Everton have agreed a contract with highly sought after Lille defender Gabriel Magalhães, and are now working to secure a deal with the French club.
The 22-year-old is being pursued by a number of clubs after an impressive season in France.
The move had been in the pipeline for the past fortnight, but stalled due to the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to journalist Nicolò Schira, Everton and Gabriel have agreed a contract until 2025, with the Merseyside club now working to finalise a deal with Lille.
The centre-back joined Lille from Brazilian side Avai in 2017 for just £1.5m, and Sky Sports and the Independent both report that the switch to Everton will be worth at least £30m.
According to the Independent, Gabriel has already passed his offsite medical ahead of the proposed move.
The Toffees had been in talks contract with the Brazilian and his representatives prior to the coronavirus outbreak, but the suspension of football and ambiguity surrounding when the season will conclude threw the move into doubt.
Everton are not the only club linked with Gabriel. Leicester City, PSG and two unnamed Italian sides also interested in the defender.
Four clubs are reported to have had offers accepted by Lille for the player, with a deal expected to be finalised over the next two weeks.
Gabriel only signed a new contract in February, with his Lille deal running until 2023. However, the club will allow him to leave in the summer. The tall centre-half spent his first season in France on the fringes of the Lille senior side, playing primarily for their B side and spending short loan spells at Troyes and Dinamo Zagreb.
However, he has enjoyed a breakthrough season this year, featuring in 24 of Lille's 28 Ligue 1 fixtures thus far, helping his side to fourth in the table. He will be a familiar face for Chelsea fans, having come up against them twice in the group stages of last season's Champions League.
Source :
90min
