Whelan claims Everton made right decision after January transfer report
Noel Whelan has claimed that Everton were spot on to reject Barcelona’s reported bid for Richarlison in January.
Sky Sports reported over the transfer window that the Spanish giants had placed an £85million bid for the 22-year-old, one that instantly rejected by the Toffees.
Whelan claimed that Carlo Ancelotti will help improve the Brazilian international, especially after having a summer to bring in players around the South American to chip in with goals.
Whelan admitted that there would have been no chance of Everton going out and finding another quality forward for a similar price in the final week of the window.
“I think it’s the right move,” he told Football Insider.
“He’s still very, very young, and if a club like Barcelona wanted him, you’ve got a very, very special player on your hands. I think Ancelotti will realise that and realise he can get more out of him.
“They’re going to strengthen in the summer as well. Ancelotti will bring in his own players. If he does that and gets the right players alongside Richarlison, we’ve already seen the progression that he’s made very quickly.
“I think it’s exactly the right thing to do. If you sell him now, go and get another striker, you’ll probably pay more for somebody with the same sort of quality. Absolutely not.”
Whelan is spot on. Everton have made exactly the right decision, with Richarlison so integral to the way they set up each week in the Premier League.
Going forward, the 22-year-old has the most shots on goal per game with 2.2 and also completes the second-highest number of dribbles in the entire squad according to WhoScored.
Without Richarlison, Everton would most likely be lost, and although it was a huge reported sum they were spot on to say no.
In other Everton news, Vinnie Jones shared his reaction after the Toffees snatched a late winner against Watford