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Everton made a late approach to sign Real Betis’ Abde Ezzalzouli in the summer window.
Thursday’s print edition of Mundo Deportivo covers Everton’s failure to secure the forward’s services.
Details of Everton offer
Brennan Johnson, Tyrique George and Jack Grealish were the three new attacking players to arrive at the Merseyside club.
David Moyes’ side came close to securing AS Monaco striker Folarin Balogun. He travelled for a medical before the move collapsed on deadline day. As well as the American, the Toffees also failed to secure Abde Ezzalzouli’s services.
The Catalan newspaper states Real Betis received a €43m bid from Everton. This includes €35m in fixed fee plus the rest as bonuses.
He has a contract until 2024 and that includes a €60m release clause. Manuel Pellegrini’s side requested this figure from Everton, who didn’t return with an improved offer.
Barcelona wanted Abde’s sale
The Morocco international spent two years at Barcelona between 2021 and 2023. The La Liga winners sold him to the Andalusian club in 2023 and retain a 20% sell-in clause.
Therefore, Hansi Flick’s side had ‘placed high hopes’ on Real Betis selling Abde Ezzalzouli in the last window.
Mundo states the Catalan club would have collected €7-8m had their Spanish counterpart accepted the Premier League side’s €43m offer.
However, the latter refused to accept any bids less than €60m. It’s unclear whether the player was open to joining Everton.
Last season, the attacker starred for his side, scoring 15 goals and contributing 13 assists from 43 matches. He picked up an injury in June, forcing him to miss the World Cup.
However, that didn’t stop him from attracting interest from Newcastle United.
The Spanish media regularly covered that the Magpies were willing to offer €60m for Abde. Towards the end of the window, Crystal Palace reportedly came forward before Everton tabled a bid on deadline day.
It’ll be interesting to see whether any of these clubs will return for him in January.
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