Everton set to sign Gerard Deulofeu in permanent deal

I have a genuine belief that should he sign, and we make another couple of key signings we will be a too 4 side. You may mock , but we have the backbone of a v v good side given another couple of signings....

Please bring Del Boy back I guarantee it will be one of the best pieces of transfer activity we have ever done.

Some deal if true

I think we’ll need to buy at least another winger to replace Pienaar – I’d go for Joel Campbell myself, who must be ready to leave Arsenal by now and could be available for a reasonable fee. Van Djilk from Celtic would be the prefect acquisition at CB.

I’d love us to bring in a striker too, but I can’t see there being enough money to buy someone like Austin who would be the obvious choice. So let’s hope we can persuade his old team mate, Danny Ings, to join us on a freebie when his contract expires.

Amazing if he signs. But I’ll open the champers when he is holding an Everton scarf... COYB!

It’s still a fantastic deal though. And just like that I’m excited about football again!

DelBoy terrorizing defenses next season is cause for optimism!

Let’s hope Delboy has learned that football is a team game and, if a teammate is in a better position, pass it to him... Not always about Delboy!!!!

A possible Mirallas replacement? And if we had Lennon on the other side, we’d definitely have the right firepower for Rom next season.

The guy can be exciting, we’ve all seen that, but he can also be very frustrating for fans and teammates alike. Two options is often one too many for him. This is reflected by the fact that neither Spanish club want him and the "race" to sign him appears to be made up of a very small field. (Are there any other interested parties ?)

It’s usually hindsight that affords us the chance to say whether a player has been a semi-decent signing – let alone "The deal of the century".

Let’s just calm down; £3M is about right under the circumstances; if Roberto can iron out his obvious flaws, we could have a top player in our ranks.

I hope we end up forking out more, because if we do eventually end up paying "add-ons" It will mean his signing has been a success.

Let’s get this done early so he’s part of pre-season!

I’m saying that £3M for a lad with such potential is a cracking deal.

Sad truth is if he was showing frequent glimpses of this potential, Barca wouldn’t be letting him go, or there’d be better options than us for him.

Has to be a good purchase, class, pace and skill and seemed to warm to the Everton fans. I think he will thrive if played and trusted, rather than labelled as frustrating "and will be great in February"....

PS - I just read the Stones to United post - I hope this is rubbish, but it kind of makes my point i..e as it is bad news the source is rubbish...(Mail)

On balance if they are both rubbish, Delboy to us is a lot more likely based on circumstance.

Keep ’em coming Bobby.

If this happens at that price, I will celebrate naked in the street!!

That said, if Barça will sell him, hopefully Everton will be his choice destination, I’d love to see him back.

I’d still push for Lennon. Let McGeady and Deulofeu challenge for the RM spot until January. Bring Lennon in in January on a cut-price deal. We need FULLY FIT experienced players to take the pressure off Ross and Deulofeu. If they are our only options and we start the season off poorly, the fans will be on to them from the off!

Lennon and Payet will do nicely.

CB?
CM – Cleverly = free.
CAM Payet = reported £8m
RM Gerry = reported £3m
LM?
January Lennon on cut price £3m

Surely we have these sort of funds available. The potential sale of Mirallas would enable us to make an impressive offer for a quality LM!

Good signing although I wasn’t his biggest fan before – he still has to deliver a better end product for me, but he is young and the potential is there so I will be cheering him on.

Now we need the CB and CF positions sorting!

Then he can be back at Goodison next summer hopefully make the LB spot his own if Baines has moved into midfield as Roberto hinted at.

Just seems too cheap!

If true, then it’s got to be the signing of the decade! Tbf, he is well down the pecking order at Barça and didn’t have the greatest of seasons at Sevilla and has had questions asked of his attitude and application from both Enrique & Emery so Barca may feel it’s best if they cut their ties and let him come to us for a reasonable fee and put in a buy back clause.

It would be a great deal all round this imo. Get him cheapish, have a great talent on our hands and if he does well and Barca fancy having him back, then they’ll be a decent back back price on his head and we’ll make an handsome profit out of it, it’ll be win-win all round for us!

£3-£8m for a lad with so much talent, with a skill set we are crying out for (being able to beat a man), that can get every bum in Goodison off its seat would be great business.

Class is permanent, form is temporary, get him in and get him playing.

That is probably why he didn’t gain a regular first team spot with Seville and Barcelona are willing to let him go.
Look at the world’s best ,they are consistently brilliant.

I’m sorry but I’ve seen more from Aaron Lennon in six months than this lad in a year; attitude is 80% of the battle and, unless that changes, he’ll be another McGeady!

If we keep Mirallas and have Gerry on the other wing I’ll be very confident we can reproduce the kind of football we saw last year.

I’m trying to convince myself Clev is a good signing and with this on top our summer is already looking much better than I expected.

THIS is the season to judge Martinez. 3 years is plenty of time these days. I quietly confident we’ll do well next year.

Deulofeu frustrated the life out of Seamus Coleman?? Really??

Well Seamus Coleman frustrated the life out of me last season, with his rapid decline to resemble anything like the player from the previous season, he reached Marc Hottiger proportions in some games.

Deulofeu was told by Martinez not to bother tracking back so you’d think Coleman would have been aware of this instruction so I’d hardly say it frustrated the life out of him.

I actually think Lennon would be a decent option playing slightly inside, judging by the goals he scored for us on loan.

If ...the Mail bit is correct ... ....good!
If....the £3m quoted is correct .... better!!
If....he plays to potential and delivers the goods ........best!!!

BUT .......why was he named Gerard, ffs?

Deulofeu or Lennon will be a guide to how the team will be shaped. Too many players with good individual skills, but lacking in a work ethos for the team, can’t be the answer.

We haven’t got the financial clout to buy the type of players required. If Del boy was that good, he wouldn’t cost £3M or be coming to play for the Blues.

I believe Barcelona are in the process of signing Vidal from Sevilla for £15m and he is a right winger which is Deulofeu’s position. With Pedro signing a long contract and the front 3 at Barcelona nailed on, it could be years before Deulofeu got his chance.

Deulofeu was one of the positive attacking inspirations that helped us get 72 points in Martinez’s first season, so I am all for him progressing with us at Everton.

It was also made clear to him that he wasn’t in Luis Enrique’s plans for the immediate future. So basically he’s been left no alternative but to move on.

Martinez is also looking to get another of their players (Sergi Roberto) in on loan.

This makes me feel extremely dubious about the authenticity of this report. It is the Daily Tory after all.

Also, if we’re buying Deulofeu, why so many links with Elmohamady? Same position as Deulofeu which again casts doubt on it – that link is more widely reported too.

Even on NewsNow, which links to all the stories online about players/news, there’s only the Daily Mail link. Nothing on the BBC Gossip page; nothing on Sky... seems weird to me.

I hope I’m wrong, but I do smell a rat....

Oh dear.

It has also been hinted that LFC would want to play more than their opening fixture away from Anfield, which means that Everton could have to host two or more Premier League games at Goodison at the start of the campaign and if the team aren’t ready for the battle the pressure on the manager could be intolerable even before the transfer window slams shut, let’s hope the players produce the results in those opening games to keep the fans onside.

I sense a Cleverley-like inevitability about this story, so I hope he has more on-days than when he was here on loan.

I’d say £3m for potential is better than what we paid for it a year ago!

Roll on the playmaker, centre-back, keeper and striker!

Perhaps there’s small print – the real asking price is £25m, but for £3m he can come with two broken ankles.

Nice things don’t happen to us – I’m half expecting "tantalising trio from Wigan" Pennant, Holt and Perch to become Everton players after this deal doesn’t happen.

"They’re right good, Berto! Just the sort of players I’d want to watch from the Boys Pen!"

If we only sign one of them, I hope it is Aaron Lennon. We will get a lot more out of him than Delboy... but hopefully we will get both.

It would appear that he has quite a big ego and is prone to sulking. If this boy gets himself in the right state of mind, confident, and with the roar of our fantastic supporters ringing in his ears, he can be unplayable. Bring it on!

ps: I would also like to see the Dutch centre-half at Celtic alongside Stones. Class player. I love Jags but he can’t go on forever. COYB.

And to the cautious, pessimistic smart arses who come on here... try believing. That is what the summer is for.

And when I think about it, Gezza could be available cheap, don’t forget, Barca sold Bojan to Stoke for less then £3m! And that was after failed loan moves to Italy & Holland.

Both these "potential" signings have big implications for us as a club in terms of sending out the right message of keeping and attracting young players who believe they can develop best at Everton.

Pull out videos of Arsenal away and Stoke at home and watch how he effortlessly skins the oppo full back, who gradually gets deeper and deeper disabling the pressing game (particularly Stoke) used to such good effect. I have not seen Mirallas nor Lennon (or indeed McGeady) frighten a back four as much as this lad.

As for substance and reliability, it’s the Daily Mail. They aren’t the most reliable source in the world as we all know. They said back in January that Steve McClaren would replace RM if he lost in the Cup to West Ham.

Let’s see what happens. Until an announcement is made and he’s unveiled, this is just more speculation.

If he were to play on the right wing in front of Coleman, then I wouldn’t envisage many assists coming from that wing; those are two awfully selfish players, always looking to shoot for themselves instead of hitting an early cross, Coleman persistently does... so frustrating.

I for one am very optimistic that The Mail have finally got one right.

Could also work in our favour of not being held to ransom over Lennon, with Spurs either lowering their price, or lose the guy next year for nothing; expect Lennon to sign towards the end of the transfer window, that’s my gut feeling.

So could end up getting Del Boy for free excluding the add ons, there again this is Everton, so no doubt will go tits up somewhere.

Incentivise him massively for every assist and not for every goal and he will be a different player! Close it out boys!

I’m not sure RM has any clue as to how his team will line up assuming this is true. He’s said he also wants a foreign Number 10 so I guess Barkley is on the bench. Then what do we do with Cleverly? Does he break up the axis of McCarthy and Barry? Or use Cleverly out of position on the wing?

He’s indicated that Pienaar will be a key man next season so with him on one wing we’ve a bench of profligate wingers (Deulofeu, McGeady, Mirallas) should he stick Cleverly on the other wing. What then for Osman and Besic? Not to mention Naismith.

Meanwhile we only have one proper striker, a hatful of left backs, two crap goalies, and no established left sided centre-halves.

It seems to me he’s building a team based on getting players he likes rather than thinking about what we need. This is what O’Neill did at Villa when he ended up with a massive squad containing right backs and center halves but little else. He got fired.

So true. He’s good one on one, but his passing game was woeful. At times it was difficult to tell who some of his wayward passes were meant for. There must be doubts about his character now. See him being used from the bench.

As for the rest of your post all I can say is, bloody hell!!

So Del has a great season, gets us top six, player of the year and gets sold back to Barça for a small profit. Where is the win-win in that? Oh I know, replace him with McGeady or Osman.

GD has plenty to work on, but he gets bums off seats and gets the crowd going, as well as frightening opposition defenders. I would love him back.

Sevilla openly questioned his attitude, then he goes back to Barca who want none of it. That should tell him that it doesn’t matter how good he is, if he doesn’t put the graft in, he won’t make it anywhere near the top.

Let’s hope he arrives determined to prove his obvious natural talent.

Del Boy first time around didn’t overly impress me and I would hope that he could improve his final ball. Having said that, I would much rather have him than Lennon or McGeady in the side.

Perhaps if Roberto can nurture his talent, over time, this lad could prove to be the central midfield play-maker that we are so sadly lacking and the type of player that is beyond our means.

Like others, I will be very disappointed if we fail to bring in a striker to bolster the forward line as we are overly reliant on Lukaku and, if he’s having a bad day at the office, we will struggle for goals.

That said, as with all Everton players and signings, I want to see them reach their full potential for this club. Sadly, with Lukaku and Barkley, I’m still waiting. In fact... Stones is the only one I can really see that is delivering on his promise.

Hopefully if the reports of Deulofeu are true and we get him, he may well deliver on the promise that many on TW see in him.

He can be frustrating, as many above have said, but he will be when he arrives, by far our most exciting player in that squad. If Martinez can encourage the team playing aspect into his game, we have a special player on our books.

That’s my worry too. If Mirallas and Naismith are not going to figure much that leaves Jags as the next highest scorer last season. Lukaku was awful against Spurs and again for Belgium last week. He only got 10 league goals last season (with 2 pens). Our midfield is very low on goal potential.

Not sure if its been mentioned elsewhere, but I saw that Vlaar from Villa is out of contract.... he’d be a perfect addition to the squad in my opinion (despite our history with Dutch players!)

It ip all done before 11:55 pm on transfer day! Is this Everton?

I would have liked to have kept Lennon but maybe he didn’t want to keep us... Let’s put last season behind us and hope for a good one, we’ve already cleared some of the shite that helped us fail! COYB !!

Any more predictions? Sergi Roberto? What’s he like?

If Mirallas stays, that’s two greedy bastards in the one team. Maybe they’ll cancel each other out.

Mainly because if there was a serious chance he could deliver his potential Barca wouldn’t be saying he’s available at knock down price.

Just my opinion, but someone mentioned the 3-3 derby, I remember he ran up more blind alleys than Inspector Closseau!!!

Here’s hoping though, he loves scouse land, forgets paella, and gets into chicken curry half ’n’ half. This time next year, we are celebrating silverware.

I like GD and think he adds to the squad but feel there needs to be a bit of a clear-out and competition for places (players only selected in their correct positions).

This deal became a lot more probable when Barca announced the Vidal deal, as that gives them another option on the right. That said, this is the Daily Mail, who are one of the biggest bullshitters in the market. I’m happy, but won’t enjoy it until the Beeb announce something.

1. We’re proposing to buy a hugely-exciting, potentially game-changing 21-year-old, for LESS than LFC paid for the 33 year-old Rickie Lambert!

2. Gerard Deulofeu was invited to join the Barcelona academy at 9; at 9 he played in their Under-11s; at 11 he played in their Under-13s. He has played for Spain at Under-16s, -17s, -19s, -20s and -21s. In 2012, he won the ’Golden Player’ award at the Uefa Under-19 Championships. He has 1 full cap for Spain.

3. He won’t be fazed by the Premier League, cos he wasn’t last time!

4. As for being a ’One trick pony’; I remember a shout in Gwladys Street many years ago: " That [Bobby] Latchford’s only got one trick ... he just sticks it in the net from 5 yards...!"

However, given his pace and potential, any deal below £5Mm would imo be a bargain. Great signing if true and would give us fantastic pace on the wing.

I think he is worth a punt at £3 million, but not at the other figure being reported. He needs to offer a lot more this time round.

I hope I am wrong but I have my doubts about this scenario and would sooner go for Lennon at a lesser price although he is older but a more dependable player.

If he fufills his potential, we are looking at £25 million plus!! I know, let’s be safe and bend over and pay Levey what he wants for Lennon, £8 million or whatever for a player who has a year left on his contract!!

What a statement if Delboy signs: what a understatement if Lennon signs

His ability to go past a man so effortlessly, is exceptional, none of our current flair players can go past a man that easy, he has pace to go with his skill as well & as Amit (#85) alluded to, he did terrify opposing defenders & push them back, allowing the rest of our team to go on the attack & take the game to the opposition. He was a miss last season, we had nobody quite like him, Atsu was a poor replacement in on loan.

If the source & the quoted price are correct, it is a no brainer for me.

Many a home game last season, I thought we could have done with the lad as, for all the frustration at times with him, he created stuff and had a goal in him, or at least won free kicks in dangerous areas, although now Lukaku has decided to bully them off Baines that’s not so much a big threat we have anymore.

I also think we’ll pay a lot more than £3 mill for him overall, if he does sign.

Geri loved playing for us and I am sure if he knew that he would not be playing for Barça last season, he would have loved to stay with us in Europe. It’s the player we need to get Lukaku in the box were he is dangerous, not having to go and get the ball. I know he is frustrating sometimes but he does posses raw talent.

We need a left winger who will work getting back as well as forward and with pace. Lennon could be the key... I don’t think KM has it in him going back so we need to buy another striker and CB, and we’ll be in business,

With options of any two from Barry, McCarthy, Besic, Gibson and Cleverley behind them makes for a fresher younger side with pace and goals. But I’m sure Bobby will still manage to mess it up if I’m honest.

The trio of Mirallas, Barkley and Deulofeu, playing behind Rom.
Cleverly and McCarthy just behind them.

We have Rom, Mirallas, Barkley, Deulofeu, Coleman, Baines, Stones.... seven players who are capable of playing for or wanted by Champions League sides.

I googled earlier to see if any updates on the situation and came across an article saying Man City were keen on Deulofeu. "Typical" was my first thought... until I saw the article was dated Dec 2012...

Interesting that the buyout clause was reported as being £8 million. I Wonder what it is now?

It appears to me that we are now set up mainly to be a counter-attacking team without having the creative player (No 10) that possesses the final "killer" ball to the CF. Sadly, it’s not Barkley, it’s not Naismith, the nearest we have is Pienaar, and to a degree, Osman.

As for GD, yes, bags of potential; it this is a "runner" then it’s (mostly) all good at that price, but he could present a test in terms of his attitude if the Seville scenario plays out? RM needs to sort his head out as to how to get the best from wide players. Atsu was a wasted loan in the end, and McGeady needs moving on, he’s not going to cut it. Any money we have left now HAS to go on that creative No 10.

Fair bit of infomation regarding the transfer, looks like it is on.

Everton will pay €6M and Deulofeu will sign a contract which is for an initial three years until 2018, but which has an option on Everton’s side for a an extra year so a four-year commitment. Barcelona will have an option to buy Deulofeu back, which will be incredibly annoying for Everton if he’s a success.

Sport say that if Barcelona want to buy Deulofeu back at the end of the next season then it’ll cost them €9m. If they want to buy the player back at the end of the 2016-17 season then they’ll have to pay €12M. The buyback clause ends after that.

The writing was on the wall for Deulofeu when he managed to annoy Luis Enrique last summer. After impressing at Everton, the youngster had expected to return to Barcelona and shine but his attitude came under question. He clearly didn’t impress Luis Enrique during the club’s important pre-season trip to St George’s Park.

Enrique had got the squad together and shielded them largely from the public and media, he wanted to check out his men and build some bonding. Deulofeu had always been confident but returned from Everton even more so and Enrique didn’t think he was what Barcelona needed. Sport don’t think he has a chance at Barcelona whilst Enrique remains manager.

A loan to Sevilla followed with Deulofeu saying he was shocked by the situation. He failed to impress at the southern Spanish club and was routinely outshone by another Barcelona loan youngster, Denis Suarez. He needs to find his best form and Roberto Martinez believes he can help with that.

Surely he could not be guaranteed game time over the first 2 years with the current talent Barça have.

The problem for us is not necessarily the prospect of Deulofeu going back to Barcelona. Messi will be around for another 4 years I’m sure, and Pedro is another option for the right, whilst Neymar will be at Barça for the next decade. I also expect that another winger or youth will make the squad in the next 2 years. The problem may be that Barça will use their buy back clause to profit from the sale of Deulofeu to another club, in the way that Real have in the past (that basically happened with Negredo).

If Deulofeu becomes a success after 2 years, and wants a move to a Champions League club, Barça could exercise their buy back and then sell him to a non-threatening rival for €15-20M, diminishing our profits in the process.

Whilst I do not like the idea of a buy-back clause, there is a little we can do about it. It is also a reflection of the small fee. If this guy was English, we’d be talking about a €10-15M buy (look at how much Zaha went for initially!). As it is, we will get him for half of that.

Tom on a free and Geri on a low start gives us the impetus to get another two signings and perhaps another good loan or two.

The skilfull creative No 10, left-sided CB, and a left-sided winger would be the wish list...

Along with 2-3 U21s being promoted into the squad would give real momentum going into the new season to really attack the League and the League Cup with serious intent.

If we’re going after him then just go ’All In’; pay some more to get him but reap the rewards if he comes good. This deal makes us look like a small feeder club.

As are the other 13/14 clubs outside the Sky group in the league.

Take a chance on him I say, if he proves himself to be "that" good for the buy back clause, at least we had him for a while.

I guess the probability of him staying beyond that also depends on our own success. After all, he’s not a slave. He doesn’t have to go back to Barca unless they earmark him for a first team place. That said, If we have another season like last he might be begging them to activate the clause.

He’s clearly a self-centred egoist, in the personality mould of Ronaldo, if not the talent mould, but unlike Madrid, we don’t have a massive squad to be able to soak up disruptive influences on team spirit, and I also question our manager’s ability to deal with strong willed and selfish players. Hope to God this doesn’t end in tears.

It’s a play maker we need not another show pony.

LFC’s Suarez? Ready made and then some. No doubt of that. Take a punt on a youngster? Hmmm . . . Neymar or Deulofeu? If we could have chose two seasons ago which of the two would we have had in? Deulofeu? No.

Nonetheless, he’s a youngster with a ton of potential. If we see a picture with him posing holding up the Shirt smiling next to Roberto, let’s hope he’s pulled his head out of his ass before the picture was snapped.

The fee is £4.3m on a 3 year contract with the option of a 4th year but Barca do have buy back clauses inserted in the deal. They can buy him back in the summer of 2016 for €9m or summer 2017 for €12m!

The buy backs seem cheap but that’ll be why the fee were paying for him is cheap, also I reckon to get Deulofeu here, we agreed to these buy back clauses as without them I don’t think he would of signed permanently! At least if he’s got the incentive and opportunity to maybe go back to Barca and play for his boyhood club one day, then I think that’ll make moving to us and to England for good more appealing.

And according to Klavan’s agent, we have made enquiries for him, James.

By mid-season, teams were beginning to suss him out as he got hold of the ball time and time again as and ran up the right wing, dribbled past a player and sent a low cross in front of the keeper. But he became single-minded and there was not a lot else he offered.

He needs to be allowed to come inside and play one-twos between the lines and thread balls through the oppositions defence. It didn’t look as though he had the freedom to do this the first time around so let's hope he could be used in the Cazorla role (sat behind Lukaku) that we all hoped Barkley had already developed into by now.

Presumably, with a buy-back clause in place for the first 3 years, we cannot sell him, unless of course there is a sell-on clause too.

Really this is another loan except we get paid some money if we turn him in to a worldy.

I think I would want a buyout clause opposite their buy -back clause if I were in the Everton contracts department to protect our investment, last time I looked Lionel Hutz and Frank Spencer were doing the deals though.

We’ve wasted far more money on others in the last few years without too much success. I think this is a pretty good deal given our paucity of funds.

I don't know what player you’ve been watching.

Deulofeu just isn’t the kind of playing in tight spaces & threading passes vision player you describe.

Him & Santi Cazorla are two totally different players. Deulofeu is a dribbler with excellent pace & will bring much needed width. Thats why he’s going to be here. Santi, a player I love, is almost the polar opposite.

The kind of player you want I naturally hope we sign.

I would imagine most likely scenario if prove a success is we pay Barça more money in order to cancel their buy back option.

Seems a good deal for a club with our financial ability.

Cheers for that comment. However, I wasn’t assuming that Deulofeu was a Cazorla, I was suggesting that as Deulofeu has two great feet and very pacey too, a play-maker behind a main striker would suit his ability.

Just because he has lot’s of pace doesn’t mean he has to remain a winger. People forget that Henry was shifted from left winger to striker all those years ago, and would he have been wasted if Wenger had kept him on that wing? Absolutely. Now I’m not implying that Deulofeu is an Henry in any way shape or form, but let’s not pigeonhole him as a winger and nothing else other wise his talents could be wasted. Players have to have more than one-dimensional if they intend to be considered as a great player in their careers. In his single season with us, he was beginning to get sussed out around mid season and he was becoming less effective as the season wore on. I remember the last few games he played for us and to be honest he looked a little frustrated at times.

My concern here is not of Deulofeu’s talent, but how Martinez will utilise him. When we had Baines and Coleman playing brilliantly as wing backs and becoming highly prized assets for doing so, Martinez had tried: McGeady, Osman, Mirallas, Oviedo, Barkley, Atsu, Pienaar, Lennon and even Lukaku on the wings. What exactly is Martinez looking for in wingers that Baines and Coleman were not already doing – and making themselves £25M+ players in the process?

Secondly, Deulofeu will be fighting his case and showing his best football for 3 years to prove to Barcelona that they should buy him back and only Everton will benefit from this.
It's a win-win.

Still, all that being said, he’s got good pace and great ball handling. At present, he’s a good attacking threat and is capable of creating something out of nothing. With the low transfer cost and the buybacks, there’s not much risk involved. We don’t need the kid to become world class in order for this move to be a "win". We’re basically getting him for free if Barça buys him back (transfer money plus wages).

If a CL club comes in for him and he wants to leave in 2 years time, that’s another thing – good offer then there’s no point in keeping an unhappy player.

Lots of ifs and buts, main thing is that we’ve got him for the coming season AND he needs to prove himself after basically wasting last season at Seville.

€6M is a bargain though – I would much rather have Delboy than Lennon!

Personally I don’t think he’ll ever be good enough to play for them.

Although this is Everton, something is probably bound to happen. Surely we can’t possibly get gazumped by a fellow PL rival? If somehow we were to miss out on him, I’d prefer it to be another Spanish team. If West Ham somehow beat us to him we’ll never hear the end of it.

The buy-back clause is a concern though. People are forgetting why big clubs have buy-back clauses. They use them as profit gainers. If he does well, they will buy Deulofeu back then sell him off again to the highest bidder. The only question I have is if Barca trigger that clause, could Deulofeu say no thanks?

But we need a luxury creative talent, one major problem last year was we couldn’t break teams down. Mirallas was the only one really capable of magic. We need another. And then the team player instance, him staying forward stifles the full back. Did anyone see Coleman’s performance decline in the second half when Anya came on?

Good signing all round. We just need Pienaar back fit, or a hard working creative player in the left (very hard to find, I know!!). Maybe Cleverley is the answer. It’s where he played under Roberto after all.

If the Lukaku deal had a similar clause for him to return to Chelsea, I can’t help but feeling we would have seen a slightly different attitude.

Deulofeu will have to have a couple of very special seasons for Barca to even consider bringing him back, and so with some question marks already out there regarding his attitude, I would have thought that the prospect of a return to the best club side in the world should help to keep him very focussed on the job.

While I’m not suggesting that every deal should be tailored like this, it seems to create a good opportunity for us to see some potential world class stars at Goodison without having to pay astronomical fees.

Imagine some of the magic moments we will have witness if indeed he does rise up and meet the Barcelona standard. All for the price of a semi-decent Championship player.

€3 million!!! Roberto had his black gloves on when he sorted this one out, a steal at that price!

A glorified loan deal some have said, and there is an element of truth in that, but it is a deal far more weighted in our favour than a regular loan agreement.

£2.2 million for that potential great business! The buzz is back!

Now all we need is a CB, maybe Van Dijk, a left winger if Mirallas leaves, Payet would be perfect, a playmaker, Cabaye would be excellent, and maybe a striker. Podolski is linked, he’d be decent if that happened.

If you minus the fee against the buy-back, let's go with the bigger amount after three years, that’s €10M, minus the wages that he would have cost Barca (say €2M pa we will pay, he didn’t want to go out on loan), effectively means over the three years they’ve paid us €1.333M per annum as our development fee.

On his return, Barca have the player’s full market value available to them. The €4M fee, plus wages, say €2M over the six months leading up the next transfer window, means anything over €6M, and don’t forget they bought him back for €12M, is pure profit.

Say €20M to Spurs, that’s €14M in profit and does nicely for their FFP, especially given the possibility of having their TV deals turning arse over tit.

This is nothing but a perverse loan that makes Bill laugh first and Barça continue to operate at a world class level, taking advantage of poorly run clubs happy with a mediocre handout, and who will console themselves with a ’he was ours once’ storyline.

No point trying something a bit different?

Let’s just keep signing a few more Naismiths as it wouldn’t possibly benefit any other club in the long run, which would be a travesty.

Do you think we should bother being a football club at all if we can’t sign an entire squad of £30m+ players that are ours to keep for as long as we want them?

Jeez.

OK so they can buy him back for 6M yoyos after 2 yrs and 12M after 3 yrs. and if he does go for GBP20 M. they get 14. But if he turns out to be worth 20M we will more than likely be in a position to tell the potential buyer, only GBP20 M ...get lost, just like we have / will / did on the City none bid for Barkley.

But this is Everton on whom the negotiating gods frown on... ( or is it laugh at )

But all in all not the worst buy...up to now...potentially...in theory... if it comes off. Jeez no wonder we’re so negative.

If finalised, then to bring in Deulofeu and Cleverley for under £3M is great business and a solid start to the Summer spending. We just need a CB and most crucially a creative AMC next. I would be very happy with Dann and Kagawa.

On some days, as many of us on here have noted, he has to be one of the most frustrating players on the pitch. Whilst he has faults like all the players do, if he comes to the club, let us all embrace him and encourage him. We have all seen what he is capable of. Perhaps he tries too hard but if he can get Lukaku and Barkley and the rest of the team firing on all cylinders, we could be in for some interesting games and times.

If signed, however odd the deal is, praise should be given to Martinez, our Chairman and everyone at the club including the fans because Deulofeu is buying into Everton. He doesn’t seem the type to do what he is told. He sees our club as worth coming to.

Interestingly it goes on to say that Spurs, Valencia and Seville are all interested in him. Seville? Seville? They’ve just kicked him out!! You’d think these arseholes would at least do a bit of research before they print this crap.

Re Gerard. I suppose the more the supposed ’deal’ is talked about, the more interested other clubs become.

Other clubs can sniff around as much as they want but we were always his first option and Barça have been happy with that.

If you’re coming, Gerry, then welcome back, kid.

Spanish clubs often put clauses in transfer deal that involve buy-back options, this is nothing new at all.

I see that Guillem Balague is on Sky saying the deal is going through now, and he’s usually right about things.

Also, the Express are saying RM is still looking to sign Lennon as well. I hope so, and wonder if that means Mirallas is on the way out?

Personally I hope he comes in, matures into a wonderful player and we never sell him.

The difference between then and now is that every detail of every deal is poured over in greater detail by the fans but the only detail that matters is what that player delivers out on the pitch the greater number of players producing good performances will help the club get positive results and nobody will care about the small details or high costs of the players involved. I hope that Roberto realises that the team has to have a balance to it because that’s the best way to play even in the modern era.

Talking of further activity, here’s hoping a solid CB comes next...

He’s been living temporarily in Seville don’t forget, probably has a home in Barcelona and still has to sort out everything in Liverpool. Not something that will happen overnight if you put yourself in a similar position, even when you add to that he has the help of the various clubs/agents etc to sort things out.

Who knows what loose ends the player has to sort out before he arrives in Liverpool to actually sign. One would imagine they’ll need to get everything in place before he comes over, otherwise he’s having to make more than one trip – unless of course he just comes over for a day, signs, holds up a shirt then buggers off again.

Who knows!

The price that a club like Everton can sell a player on for is a major point to consider as, like it or not, Everton are a selling club unless they get the much sought investment.

But then, these days, we must be grateful for any signing that didn’t once play for Wigan, mustn’t we?

Better than getting some no-mark from Wigan, you see there is quite a difference from a side relegated to the old 3rd division and a team that has just won the European Cup and the loan side the Cup Winners Cup.

It’s a low priced deal that, even if it goes tits up, it’s still only half of what we paid for Kone.

No major downside here really.

I would like this for the price if it comes off. Come on Roberto, pull it off(!).

I salivate when thinking of a midfield with Mirallas, Barkley and Delboy. The team needs some single-minded players who are going to have a go for goal.

The team has too many players with the ’after you’ mentality. We need players who want the ball and will fight for it!!

Firstly, the buy-back clause will require the player to agree terms to which they are suited, which considering he would be potentially in the last year of his contract, would be against his own interests as he would able to sign a much more lucrative contract with another team if his transfer fee was lower. So, in essence, if he decided to re-sign for Barcelona they would have to offer him a contract that would see him on greater terms than Everton or another club for a decent timespan.

But, if they intend to flip him, that leads to problems for the buying club.

If Gerri did sign for Barcelona, it would only be for a contract that would see him staying at the Nou Camp for a reasonable time, which means a buying club would instead be paying to buy him out of a contract that is not only on better terms than at Everton but also on a longer span, three years for example instead of one at Everton, which would yes increase his market value, but also make it less likely anyone would try and sign him when they could just approach Everton, when he is on a shorter, less valuable contract, and thus cost less in a transfer fee.

By not signing him through Barcelona as an intermediary, they would save money in the long run and Gerri would most likely receive better terms in the long run.

In conclusion, the buy-back clause, for me, is only an insurance that in the next two years Barcelona haven’t dropped a clanger like Chelsea and Matic and can get a world class talent back for less than would be expected.

If my reasoning isn’t good in some areas, please tell me... because I’m struggling to see the massive failing of Everton in this negotiation but I am open to being enlightened.

No hand stands though.

Neil@230 any response?

Barcelona would be the only party gaining from this arrangement and thus making it incredibly less likely any other club or the player himself would agree to it, regardless of Everton being powerless in the arrangement.

I actually would do a handstand, if I wasn’t worried about the effects on me and those nearby. It’s an outrageously low figure for an extremely talented player. It does not matter that it did not work out at Sevilla – that often happens with young players bumped around between clubs. It is also been a part of the histories of a fair few success stories at this club, and I think the purchase of Deulofeu could well be up there with the signings of Pienaar and Arteta in the future. Coquelin also notably returned to Arsenal from a pretty average loan spell...

Luckily Phil, I think your over-pessimistic viewpoint is not replicated by the majority. Just wondering – who did you expect us to be signing? Last time I checked we did not have deep pockets, nor Champions League football, to attract the world class stars courted by the top 4. Personally, I’m as pleased about this deal as I have been about a deal in a while. I was pleased about Lukaku, but the big fee was always going to be a problem. We don’t have that issue with Deulofeu. We have got an extremely exciting player for one tenth of a Lallana.

I’m also hopeful that the relatively small amount of money invested in the two signings so far (assuming all goes ahead as planned) will leave money to invest in the creative midfielder and central defensive replacements we need.

Joe said "The manager is what he seems. He is a really nice guy, a brave guy bringing an ex-manager in. Not many managers would do that! He is secure in his relationship with the chairman and with me. We are good mates and he is a good guy."

If he’s good enough for Joe, he’s good enough for me, as long as Roberto produces a winning team of course.

There is an interesting quote from Dick Emery the Sevilla manger which sums Gerard up nicely: "He doesn’t have the maturity of capacity for sacrifice yet" I.e. He’s a great individual to have but getting to play for the team won’t be easily. But that’s why he’s the price he is.

ps: Somebody needs to check out his birth certificate before we sign him, the Spanish sometimes use their second name. He could be called Estaban Gerard Deulofeu.....Estaban being the Spanish equivalent of Steven.

Yep – we’d have our own Stevie G.... eeeek

It also means we won’t overpay for Aaron Lennon. If Spurs offer to sell Lennon I’d be a buyer.

Our Blues need impact subs and having both Del Boy and Lennon to compete for the right wing spot would be a big step up in what we had this year on the right wing.

On the high side a combo of Del Boy and Lennon might get around 10 goals scored between them.

Playing for us I saw him as very much a show pony whose magic moments were few and far between. As to why he should do better this time round after playing hopelessly in a less demanding competition, I fail to see.

But we all have to hope that Roberto has got it right for a change!

Aside from all of that, the reason I see that people are excited about him coming back, is that last season we were pedestrian in possession, and Deulofeu only knows how to play fast, direct, attacking football. The one thing we were missing last season.

This for me is the reason people are excited.

I’m actually pretty excited anyway, despite my view of him. Having watched him from very closeup on the touchline a few times, he does get the heart racing, so fuck it, I’m excited! :)

It's a trick no-one else in the squad has.

What does make me laugh, is the fee and the comparisons people are making today of Del Boy £3M, Sterling £40M... the Redshite fans appear envious. Neither are proven, but I know which one excites me more. Great business for us.

Above comments comparing a fee of £30 million for lallana..... Or £3 million for GD..... I know who I would rather have.

I just hope that Rom can intercept the Delboy cross along the ground in the 6-yard box ... it is so predictable that we should have someone on the end of it. As he hits the bye-line, we should be having bodies committing themselves to the near post.

Talking about posts ....some great posts, guys ... the deal is amazing and gives us a chance to get 2 or 3 more quality signings on top this Summer... Also puts pressure on Spurs for Lennon and let's us sharpen up KM or be OK to get rid of him if a decent offer comes in.

Where’s our new keeper to replace Howard? Had enough of him now....

No handstands here but very optimistic about this signing! No substitute for pace in football!

Sometimes you just need that player who can excite, create something out of nothing, get you out of my seat. My kids are thrilled he’s signing and that’s a big deal to me... kids need blue idols.

We know he has some shortcomings right now but he could be anything. What he did to Liverpool was amazing to watch. That he didn’t actually assist or score in that match highlights that he still has to improve.

The idea of him, Rom, Stones and Ross hitting their mid twenties in royal blue is something to look forward to.

The question is whether RM will give him lots of playing time and not 10 minutes off the bench here and there like he has been doing with others.

Call me an optimist but I cannot believe next season will be as bad as last but how much improvement will there be under RM?

I doubt they will buy him back, but they could use the threat of buying him back to demand more money from Everton if his market value shoots up. This in exchange for a lower price Everton are paying now makes total sense to me.

But expect us to have to pay a few million more in a couple of years time to hang on to him... if things go well.

There is no logical financial incentive for them to put a buy-back in, in the interest of trying to make more money. They wouldn’t be able to flip him, they couldn’t logically use it as a way of fleecing Everton of any more money than what was discussed in the original negotiations, and after the second summer, the clause will cease to exist.

Another option is for them to say they will activate the buy-back clause unless Everton pay a fee.

Enough options for Barça to make money. Still, great deal for Everton if they pull it off.

Mark my word, this homegrown rule is going to make the mega rich clubs stronger, and weaken the rest by them snapping up home-grown players and offering them ridiculous wages.

Instead, why not bring in that those 5 players have to have come through your own academy and not another team's one? It will not happen as long as Sky have their darlings, things will not change, so be ready for stupid wages being offered for homegrown talent.

If it stopped the football gossip, there may have been some merit in the deadline; perversely it seems to have increased the need for the media to run speculative stories every hour of every day.

The other downside is, if a club such as Everton are having a bad time, they can’t boost morale by signing a player or selling a player who isn’t performing until the next window opens.

First choice: Howard, Baines, Coleman, Jagielka, Stones, McCarthy, Deulofeu, Mirallas, Cleverley, Lukaku, Barkley, Naismith, Robles.

Development: Browning, Garbutt, Galloway, etc.

Back up: Hibbert, Gibson, McGeady, Oviedo, Osman, Pienaar, Kone.

Even Lukaku’s deal seemed to happen quickly.

In that instance Barca would have to pay the £9mil (or whatever) to us. That would make the deal worth £11 mil to Barca. If he’s worth £20 mil, there would be nothing for Barca to gain by refusing a £11 mil offer from us. The fee being quoted now would not be unreasonable for a two season loan payment, and a £9mil discount after two years would seem a decent position for us to be in at that time.

It's already started with Stirling being offered daft wages.

The same will happen with Stones, Barkley and others that have been bedded in at a club. The money-no-object clubs will just pay stupid wages.

It will never happen but Rugby League's salary cap has been fantastic and made Super League more balanced with more clubs competing now than 8 years ago.

Sadly they will never bring in a salary cap at football, more's the pity.

He does possess tremendous skill but didn’t produce it at Seville which is probably why the fee is so low.

They’re currently in a two-year ban on transfers due to their ’international transfer of minors’ and were responsible for the most corrupt transfer of all time in bringing Neymar to the club.

However, we have to ask why would Barcelona not take him back in two years, where selling him on for anything over approx €5M would bring pure profit.

This has been dragging on. Did someone at the club read the thread?

He’s on holiday. Check his Twitter feed.

Also, has anyone else seen the story about the translator getting the fee wrong? It’s all a big mistake and they actually want £30m. Very funny.

Link

This is a direct quote from the actual journalist regarding the move and Deulofeu’s apparent stumbling development: "The fact that he will kick off the new season as an Everton player proves that somewhere along the line things went wrong." Unbelievable!

And he will be OURS. Oh yes, he will be OURS.

If someone wants to buy him (can’t see Barça wanting him back themselves) then they would have to outbid us by €12M, which seems to be the accepted buy-back figure. €6M for two years’ loan (going rate) then €12M discount on full fee = not a bad position to be in. And if not a success, I’m sure we could recoup the initial fee by selling him to the Redshite (they’ll overpay for anyone).

Either way, I like what I’ve seen of him.

Didn’t Enrique come out recently and say that he wanted him to stay? And lets not forget that the upcoming presidential elections could change any Barça deals in the pipeline that are not already signed off as hopefully the Deulofeu deal is...

To be fair, Colin was pretty much on the money last year, so if he’s right again then colour me very excited. Two attacking creative players from the best club in the world on comparatively cheap deals would seem like pretty smart business to me.

Nah, doesn’t quite ring true, but I wonder how long it will be before someone comes out with it...

I’m still reeling from the criticism over signing Cleverly early (when for years we berated the club for being the deadline day dash club).

Matt T, @301, as far as I know, we haven’t signed either so keep your power dry; this is Everton mate, if a deal (whether player, ground, or manager) can be flipped up, you can bet your ring-fenced bottom dollar that it will be.