Ben Guest
Barcelona are set to hijack Malcom’s transfer to Roma, after seeing their latest bid for Willian knocked back.
Malcom was one of the most talked about players in Europe back in the January transfer window, with Manchester United, Spurs and Arsenal all linked with the Brazilian.
Those rumours have since died down, with Inter Milan and Everton being more recently linked, before Roma stole a march on proceedings and were thought to be close to securing a transfer.
However, reports overnight have suggested that Barcelona have stepped in to try to hijack the deal after struggling to reach an agreement for Chelsea winger, Willian.
The La Liga Champions have already seen bids of £50m and £55m rejected for Willian, and according to the Mail, have seen their third bid of £65 million also knocked back.
Maurizio Sarri has stated that he is confident of keeping the Brazilian at the club, along with his Chelsea teammates Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois, who have attracted the attentions of Real Madrid.
Now, with Chelsea digging their heels in over their wantaway Brazilian, Barcelona have reportedly outbid Roma, who had already agreed upon a deal worth €38 million, with Goal claiming that the Spanish giants have had a €41m bid accepted,
Malcom was due to fly to the Italian capital on Tuesday to finalise the deal, but did not travel, given the interest shown by Barcelona.
Despite missing out on Malcom, the news could actually be a boost for Everton’s transfer plans, with the Bordeaux winger set to become the fourth non-EU player at the Nou Camp, with only three players allowed in each La Liga squad. That could force Colombian defender Yerry Mina out of the club, with the Toffees interested.