Barcelona steal march in pursuit of Everton target Aguero
Barcelona have made the first move in the race for Sergio Aguero this summer, with Chelsea, Everton and Paris Saint-Germain among a number of interested clubs.
The Manchester City striker is set to leave the Etihad at the end of the season and he has no shortage of potential suitors, with the 32-year old still one of the best forwards in Europe.
Aguero has been plagued by illness and injury this season, scoring just four goals in 17 appearances in all competitions, however his “top-class” pedigree was on display against Crystal Palace last week.
The Daily Star reported Everton’s interest in Aguero last week, with the Toffees even prepared to offer a huge signing on fee to compensate for their inability to pay the Argentine’s current wage of £240,000 per week.
However Sky Sports now claim that Barcelona have made their first move by making contact with Aguero’s representatives over a possible summer deal.
The Catalan giants are keen to add a striker to their squad following last summer’s sale of Luis Suarez, and the hope is that Aguero’s arrival could also convince Lionel Messi to stay.
That was also detailed by Fabrizio Romano on his Here We Go podcast.
Romano said, “I want to say that Kun wants to join Barcelona. He’s pushing to go to Barcelona, he wants to play with Leo Messi. So contacts are going on, Barcelona won’t decide anything before the end of the season.
“So, we need to wait a bit to see if they can find an agreement, but they’re talking with Aguero. They will decide for Depay [and] Aguero only at the end of the season but Aguero wants to join Barcelona and talks are going on.”
Pipe dream anyway
Let’s be honest, Everton are never going to land Sergio Aguero.
Given the relationship the forward has forged with Manchester City supporters it seems unlikely that he’d remain in the Premier League anyway, but certainly not with a club who cannot offer Champions League football.
Aguero remains one of the best finishers in the world, his fitness issues aside, and he was always going to sign for someone like Barcelona who can both afford his wages outright and offer him more time playing in Europe’s most elite competition.
Everton’s continued links with Aguero do signify the club’s intention to sign a forward this summer though, which wasn’t a given after Carlo Ancelotti had been coy on the matter.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin needs competition and support ahead of the new season and it doesn’t seem as though Moise Kean will be that man, with more and more speculation linking him with a summer exit.
Regardless of whether Everton qualify for Europe or not they’ll need to find another forward as they continue to grow, and it seems as though the club are aware of that too.
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