View: Letting Bernard leave Everton in January is a risk Ancelotti may want to take
Bernard could leave Everton during the January window to join Italian side AS Roma, with Carlo Ancelotti reportedly open to a deal.
According to Alvise Cagnazzo, who was speaking to AS Roma Live, a move to Italy may not necessarily be the end of the player’s Goodison Park career.
Speaking about a potential move, he said: “A lot will depend on whether he decides to invest in the player. But if there is the possibility, the Italian league is seen very well by Ancelotti to encourage the development of his players.
“Many players from England have done very well in Serie A, with the exception of Eriksen and Ramsey. Everton is a young and strong team, and I’m happy that a noble English team has an Italian coach-manager at its helm.”
The Brazilian has fallen out of favour under Carlo Ancelotti this season, making just four appearances in the Premier League.
Having arrived on a free from Shakhtar Donetsk, Bernard is believed to be one of the club’s top earners, pocketing a reported £120,000 a week.
A risk worth taking for Everton
Everton’s approach with Bernard could play a huge role in deciding what the rest of their January window looks like.
He seems to be among the club’s top earners and if the Toffees could manage to shift him off the wage bill, that could possibly open the door for potential January recruits.
Financially, it is damaging for Everton to have their highest earner watching on from the sidelines every week, but the knock-on effects could be huge.
Should a player like James Rodriguez, who is out of contract in 2022, or one of the Toffees top performers, start thinking about asking for a new deal, Bernard will naturally be viewed as the benchmark. With the club already overspending on fringe players, this is a risk they may not want to take.
While the report claims that a potential move to Roma could only be on loan, it does represent an opportunity to build Bernard’s value up ahead of a permanent exit further down the line.
In other Everton news, Ancelotti must put faith in Nkounkou after Delph’s struggles at Burnley