Everton the big mover on deadline day

EVERTON brought in three new faces on the final day of the English Premier League transfer window yesterday, swooping for Brazilian midfielder Bernard from Shakhtar Donetsk plus Barcelona players Yerry Mina and Andres Gomes.

Playmaker Bernard arrived on a free transfer after his contract ended with the Ukrainian club while Barcelona said Everton had agreed to sign centre back Mina for $47.4 million and has taken midfielder Gomes on loan.

The fee for Mina, who only joined the Spanish champion in January, could rise by $2.3 million and Barcelona has inserted a buyback clause in the contract. Everton had already spent a reported $70 million on Brazilian forward Richarlison from Watford.

Tottenham Hotspur ended the window as the only club not to bring in a new player while Manchester United was unable to bring in the central defender it was reported to be keen to recruit. Spurs had been hoping to bring in Aston Villa’s 22-year-old midfielder Jack Grealish but was reported to have had a $43 million offer rejected by the Championship club.

United had been linked with several central defenders including Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng, Leicester City’s Harry Maguire and Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld.

The English Premier League season kicked off overnight with Manchester United playing Leicester City.