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Last summer, Everton got into a highly-publicized transfer battle with Barcelona and AS Roma over Bordeaux winger Malcom. It looked like the Brazilian was on his way to Merseyside when the Italian side hijacked the deal with offers of Champions League football. But there was no celebrating for the Giallorossi as Barca swooped in and stole away the Brazilian forward who then signed a five-year contract with the Catalans.
Needless to say, Malcom made a mistake and he knows it very well now. The youngster was barely able to get a look-in with the Spanish champions, starting just 11 games and featuring in 24 total with 4 goals and 2 assists in a lacklustre first season.
Now it appears he could on his way out of the club with Barca looking to clean house, and who better to call than their favourite English side, Everton.
Everton will make a €35m offer for Barcelona's Malcom, according to RMC. Arsenal are also interested but have not formulated a bid.
— Robin Bairner (@RBairner) July 8, 2019
The Toffees are developing a very interesting relationship with the Catalans, with Everton buying Lucas Digne, Yerry Mina, and Andre Gomes over the last two summers, and having done a Gerard Deulofeu deal as well recently.
The RMC Sport report says the Blues are going to offer £31.5 million for Malcom, which is £5m less than what Barca paid for him last summer. If the Spaniards are just trying to get him off the books, then it appears Marcel Brands is going to be very willing to take him on. Arsenal are also mentioned as possible suitors, but are yet to make a move.
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Despite playing only limited minutes last season, Malcom retains his best (and worst) characteristics that we saw during his breakout season at Bordeaux.
Malcom is at his best as an inverted winger, running at defenders at pace with an excellent eye for the pass, whether it’s on the break or against a well-set backline. The record shows that in his time in Ligue 1, he consistently underperformed his xA while overperforming his xG. That specifically shows off his biggest area for improvement, as he tends to take a lot of low percentage shots from distance.
Click here to read an excellent scouting report on his strengths and weaknesses.
If the Blues are well and truly looking to get rid of another young winger in Ademola Lookman, then they could do a lot worse than splash some of that cash for another exciting Brazilian forward to add to the Everton ranks.