Everton have suffered a transfer blow in their pursuit of Gonzalo Villar, with AS Roma completing a deal to sign the 21-year-old. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, an agreement has been reached that will see the Elche midfielder move to Roma for £4.2m.
Villar joined Elche on a free transfer from Valencia in 2018 and went on to make 39 appearances in all competitions, scoring and creating three goals. The central midfielder has been a regular in his second season and impressed enough to attract the attention of Everton and Roma.
He never made a first-team appearance for Valencia and was stuck in the reserves, but his decision to drop down a division couldn’t have been better. Villar now has to work hard to get regular action at the Stadio Olimpico as he has the likes of Lorenzo Pellegrini, Jordan Veretout and Bryan Cristante
Despite Everton having Andre Gomes, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Fabian Delph, Morgan Schneiderlin and Tom Davies, it appears they’re still in the market for an addition to the engine room. Villar may be gone, but the Toffees are making progress with Matias Vecino and could soon complete a deal for the Inter Milan midfielder.