Everton were not trying to sign Luis Diaz as a replacement for Richarlison
Phil Kirkbride doesn’t believe that Everton wanted to sign Luis Diaz as a replacement for Richarlison.
Speaking in a Q&A session on the Liverpool Echo website, the reporter was asked about the Toffees’ pursuit of the Porto winger and if he was seen as an ideal replacement for the Brazilian forward.
However, Kirkbride doesn’t believe that was the case, and Rafael Benitez wanted him as a third winger after Dwight McNeil proved to be too expensive.
He said: “No, I think he was targeted because Benitez wanted three wingers. McNeil was out of reach because of Burnley’s valuation, but Diaz was deemed affordable IF James went the other way.”
Everton miss out on a third winger.
Diaz emerged as a late target for Everton, and they pretty much agreed a deal with the Champions League side, only for James Rodriguez to refuse to join his old club [Express].
Therefore, the Toffees missed out, and the 30-year-old moved to Qatar instead, which is good because he is off the wage bill but bad because Everton could have signed Diaz.
However, it is good to hear that Kirkbride doesn’t believe that the Toffees saw the Colombian winger as a replacement for Richarlison, who has been strongly linked with a move to PSG [EuroSport].
Now that Rodriguez has gone, it will be intriguing to see if the Toffees go back in for Diaz in January or next summer, as surely Benitez will still want that third winger [Ryan Taylor].
So, this could be a deal to keep an eye on in the next two transfer windows, and with Rodriguez’s wages cleared, the Toffees should be able to afford a few more players.
In other Everton news, the club are looking at signing a new right-back.
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