Everton have reached an agreement with Villarreal for the transfer of midfielder Pape Gueye, as reported by our friends at Goodison News, who put the deal at around £24m plus roughly £4m in add-ons, some of it tied to Champions League qualification.
It’s the clearest sign yet that Everton’s long-running interest in the Senegal international has turned into something concrete, with the Toffees understood to have moved ahead of Premier League competition from Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Brighton and Sunderland to get a deal over the line with the La Liga club.
Gueye’s performances at this summer’s World Cup appear to have accelerated the matter, with Everton’s recruitment team said to have stepped up their enquiries in recent weeks to assess the conditions of a move. The 27-year-old, primarily a defensive-minded box-to-box midfielder, contributed seven goal involvements in 39 appearances for Villarreal last season.
Personal terms and a medical remain to be finalised, and neither club has yet confirmed the deal, so this should be treated as an agreement in principle rather than a done deal.
If it does go through, Gueye would become Everton’s fourth signing of the summer, following Hayden Hackney, Tyrique George and Merlin Rohl (permanently) through the door at the Hill Dickinson — and a fitting like-for-like reinforcement in midfield with Idrissa Gana Gueye having left the club as a free agent this month.
This piece draws on reporting from Goodison News and has not been independently confirmed by Everton or Villarreal.
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