Everton send scouts to Porto v Sporting with Otavio and Zaidu potentially on agenda
Everton were among a host of European clubs to send scouts to Portugal for the fiercely-competed FC Porto v Sporting game, according to A Bola.
Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona were among those with representatives in attendance as Porto ran out 3-0 winners in one of the biggest games outside of the top five leagues.
A Bola doesn’t specify who the Toffees were taking a good look at but there have been two Porto players previously on the club’s transfer radar who played their part in the important victory.
O Jogo reported on 11 June that highly-rated winger Otavio was of interest to Frank Lampard who has a release clause of £51million that the Portuguese side were stubborn to stick to.
On 14 June, Record reported that left-back Zaidu Sanusi was also a player that Everton were keen on signing although they would face competition from Fulham, Crystal Palace and Brighton.
Double Bubble
There may have even been Sporting players who the scouts were sent to take a look at but after being beaten so convincingly in a crucial league fixture, they might not be all that interested anymore.
Perhaps a double swoop of Porto is more likely to occur then if they try to put together a package deal for both Otavio and Sanusi.
It would be a bank-breaking move unless a big sale or two were to happen before the transfer deadline on 1 September but they have both starred in Portugal for a club regularly competing in the Champions League.
That is the ambition for every club further down the line no matter how realistic it may seem and if Everton want to catapult themselves into a position their new stadium should command, they have to make big moves.
Even if no move materialises right now, it won’t be ruled out for the future and there is never any harm in taking a look at a game further afield where a rough diamond could be unearthed.