Everton defender looking to join brother in Mexico

After featuring in just four games for Everton this season despite being fit, Ramiro Funes Mori is looking to make a move away from the Premier League. The Argentine defender has likely missed out on a spot in this summer’s World Cup thanks to Sam Allardyce’s reluctance in using the player despite the Toffees having little to play for over the last two months of the just-ended season.

Sport Witness are reporting that Mexican club Monterrey in the Liga MX have made contact with the player’s representatives, and are looking to seal the transfer for a sum of about £10m. Per the outlet, a source has stated -

“They already had the first contact, everything indicates that it will be positive. Ramiro wants to play, to have continuity and he was not happy that in the end he didn’t have the minutes he feels he needed to go to the World Cup. Rogelio has talked about Rayados (the club’s nickname), he knows Mexico, Monterrey and he sees it with good eyes.”

An added incentive for the defender would be the opportunity to team up with his brother Rogelio who is also at the club as a striker, scoring 19 goals and 9 assists in 39 games this season.

The twins grew up in Dallas for the first seven years of their lives before moving to Argentina where they came through the youth ranks at River Plate in Argentina, going into the senior side together until Rogelio moved to Benfica in Portugal in 2013.

Ramiro has featured in a total of 67 games for the Toffees since his transfer in 2015, scoring five times with three assists, but never really established himself as a member of the team, stepping in mostly as an injury replacement or when the Blues went with a three-man backline.

The 27-year-old’s contract with Everton runs through the end of the 2019-20 season, and this represents the best chance for the Blues to get the highest value for the player who was signed for about £9.5m