Everton have been met with one last major hurdle in the Toffees’ bid to close Abdoulaye Doucoure’s summer transfer from Watford, according to Foot Mercato.
Blues Director of Football Marcel Brands has been locked into negotiations with Watford attempting to strike a deal to add Doucoure to Carlo Ancelotti’s plans ahead of the start of the new Premier League season, having previously fallen shy of the Hornet’s asking price.
A deal is now understood to have been struck at €25million (£22.4m) including potential add-ons, while Doucoure successfully passed his obligatory medical on Saturday having travelled to Merseyside.
However, a deal cannot yet be sanctioned as there are still legal factors playing a significant role, with all parties yet to come to an agreement on what is proving a major hurdle.
It is believed that the legal discrepancies are the only obstacle to Doucoure becoming an Everton player, a year on from the Toffees’ failed efforts to sign the 27-year-old under the tenure of Marco Silva.
Waiting for Doucoure at Goodison Park is a three-year contract with the option to extend by a further season, while the deal is said to make the Frenchman our top-earner at £120,000-per-week.
Should Doucoure start vs Spurs on Sunday?
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If the legal discrepancies are the only obstacle remaining in our quest to finally obtain Doucoure’s services, given claims he successfully passed his medical over the weekend, then the window is nearing an exciting point following the successful acquisition of Allan.
A deal for Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez remains on the cards, with it expected that the Colombian will soon arrive for a medical ahead of completing his transfer worth more than £20m.
Should deals for James and Doucoure go through, we could soon have a completely new and exciting looking midfield unit that boasts power and grace in equal measures.
Doucoure won on average 3.2 ground duels a game in the Premier League last season, while providing 1.0 key balls, 1.7 tackles, 1.1 shots and 1.1 successful dribbles, per SofaScore, that led to a total of six big chances being created, two assists and four goals with the potential for four more had he not squandered some of his more glaring opportunities.
The Frenchman will be sure to boss the midfield at Goodison Park this season coming, and his relegation with Watford will be looked back on as a blessing for the Toffees as it likely lowered what the Vicarage Road natives would have demanded otherwise.