Some of the football played by Charly Alcaraz for Everton since he finally became fit enough to play has been scintillating. But many observers are monitoring exactly how many playing opportunities he is getting in the context of presumed knowledge about certain details of the loan agreement with Flamengo.
Everton reportedly have the option to make the transfer permanent at the end of the season should Alcaraz play a high threshold of games during his loan spell, although the Echo claims the the exact number has not been confirmed. The transfer fee Everton would pay for the player would reportedly be in the region of £15M.
However, Torcida Flamengo report (via Sport Witness) that, when the midfielder joined Everton on loan at the end of the January transfer window, the deal included an obligation to buy for £15M in the summer if he plays 45 minutes in at least 8 games. But it is reported that there has been increasing concern at Flamengo this won’t happen as Alcaraz has been rotated in and out by David Moyes since joining the Toffees.
Flamengo technical director Jose Bota has been speaking in an interview with journalist Venê Casagrande, in which the Alcaraz situation was discussed:
“I can’t predict the future, but I’m convinced he’ll stay in England,” he said. “Either at Everton or at another club, because we’ve had enquiries from other clubs since he arrived in England. He’s an excellent player for that type of game.
“I think it’s unlikely he’ll return to Flamengo, because he’ll certainly have a market in the Premier League. Then people say: ‘He’s good enough in the Premier League but not for Flamengo’. Things are not like that.
“Especially because, for me, Flamengo is much better than 70% of the teams in the Premier League. But the style of play that Flamengo has, has little to do with most of the teams in the Premier League.”
This is being portrayed by a number of clickbait sites as a ‘warning’ to Everton about not assuming they can manipulate the situation somehow in their favour, for negotiating a lower fee. With 9 games remaining, and trusting that Alcaraz remains match fit, there appears to plenty of scope for the conditions to be either met or not met.