Benítez ‘99.99%’ certain Richarlison will stay at Everton and targets Luis Díaz
Rafael Benítez has said he is “99.99%” certain Richarlison will stay at Everton as the club attempt to sign the Colombia winger Luis Díaz from Porto.
Everton officials have opened talks with Porto over the permanent transfer of 24-year-old Díaz, although a deal is dependent on James Rodríguez returning to his former club. Díaz has been valued at around £25m and would include Rodríguez moving to Portugal on a permanent deal.
Rodríguez joined Everton from Real Madrid only last year, on an initial twoyear contract, but has been told he is surplus to requirements as Benítez attempts to restructure the squad amid financial constraints. The Everton manager confirmed the club are “working on two or three names” before next week’s transfer deadline and their prospects “depend on players moving out.”
Benítez insisted, however, that Richarlison is not among those who can leave and Everton would not be forced to accept a huge bid for the Brazil international to comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules. Richarlison has been touted as a potential option for Paris Saint Germain should they sell Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid.
Benítez clarified: “We are working on the players that we want to be sure we can get and the players that maybe we will not need. The main one, when people talk about speculation, is Richarlison. We are very happy with him. My idea is that 99.99% he will stay. I am happy with him, he is happy here and he wants to score goals for us.
“Obviously you never know what will happen in the future but 99.99% – I will repeat myself – he will stay and he will hopefully score at Brighton [on Saturday]. We are not really [under pressure to sell]. We are working and we have to manage a little bit with the rules but I think we can do it.”
The Everton manager, who could also offload Moise Kean to PSG on loan with an obligation to buy to fund new signings, does not believe Richarlison’s head will be turned by the reported interest from the French side. He added: “I was talking with him yesterday. We had a five-a-side, he was joking, he was scoring goals. This is a player that is happy to do well here and is happy to score goals. The only thing that I know he has in his head is Brighton. In football, you never know, but this is one of the speculations I can almost be sure has no sense.”