Read on Twitter
Okay, going to try and explain what's going on with Everton in regards to Allan and Gabriel Magalhães as told by the Italian media. To start, Everton definitely want both players and have lodged bids to try and get them, but Napoli are a problem on both fronts.
Let's start with Allan. Napoli want to sell & he wants out but the Serie A side want €40m, a price Everton aren't going to pay for a 29-year-old. They've offered €38m all in but that's with bonuses that Napoli aren't happy with according to Il Mattino.
http://sportwitness.co.uk/everton-napoli-ancelotti-allan-transfer/
http://sportwitness.co.uk/everton-napoli-ancelotti-allan-transfer/
Everton have a deal in place with Allan & he'll keep his word & ignore new interest from Atlético Madrid. So they just need to find an agreement with Napoli over the price. The likelihood is they've offered €25m base with bonuses. http://sportwitness.co.uk/claim-club-mocked-everton-sign-player-blues-lodged-e25m-bid-midfielder/
Those bonuses will probably include all sorts of conditions that Napoli aren't happy about. They probably want more money upfront & less in bonuses, which is understandable. That makes talk of a €30m 'take it or leave it' offer to Everton logical.
http://sportwitness.co.uk/carlo-ancelotti-still-wants-player-costs-club-set-take-leave-e30m-asking-price-compromise-likely/
http://sportwitness.co.uk/carlo-ancelotti-still-wants-player-costs-club-set-take-leave-e30m-asking-price-compromise-likely/
To be clear, it's likely Napoli have told Everton they want €30m upfront plus bonuses to take it to €40m. Everton don't want to pay €40m and have instead offered €20-25m upfront and then bonuses taking it €38m, so they need to find a middle ground.
If that is the case, reports earlier this year that Napoli would take €35m all in make a lot more sense. Either way, it's easy to see why negotiations are dragging on as they're trying to find a price that both clubs agree on. http://sportwitness.co.uk/evertons-e30m-offer-not-quite-enough-need-e56m-convince-club/
Now, let's move on to Gabriel Magalhães. The situation there is even more of a mess by all accounts. Everton had a deal wrapped up for him earlier this year but then ended up pulling back because of the Coronavirus epidemic.
In the interim, a whole host of other suitors came forward, chief among them Napoli. In fact, they're at the front of the queue now because Lille have a 'gentleman's agreement' with them after negotiating over Victor Osimhen earlier this summer.
That led to them rejecting a recent €20m bid from Everton for the defender. They're giving Napoli time to raise the money for Gabriel but there's a limit on that and if the Italians don't hurry up, they'll sell elsewhere; perhaps to Everton. http://sportwitness.co.uk/everton-napoli-gabriel-magalhaes-lille-20m-bid-rejected-transfer/
The problem for Napoli is that they don't have the money yet after buying Osimhen. They need to raise funds before buying, chiefly by selling the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly and Allan. Until they do so, they can't get Gabriel, meaning Everton are still in the race for him.
To conclude, Napoli need Everton to pay up for Allan - or Manchester City for Koulibaly - before they can get Gabriel. But neither want to do that atm, particularly Everton, who know if they pay for Allan they're basically giving Gabriel to Napoli.
It's a big mess, more so because Everton are apparently interested in Nikola Maksimovic, which would also give Napoli the money to go & get Gabriel Magalhaes over the line. That is something you'd think they want to avoid if Gabriel is high on their list. http://sportwitness.co.uk/everton-serious-maksimovic-napoli-ancelotti-transfer/
Lille, of course, hold plenty of power too. They'll be happy to play Everton & Napoli off of each other & ramp up Gabriel's price. They might get bored, though, & just sell to the likes of Everton so they can get the money they need in the bank.
That would probably go down badly at Napoli & given what Aurelio de Laurentiis is like, make any further discussions for Allan very complicated, particularly if Everton are trying to bring down their asking price.
Whatever way you look at it, it's a massive mess and Everton are right in the middle of it all. They have their targets but don't want to pay over the odds or end up without like they did last year, not after getting Ancelotti. Tough work for Marcel Brands all round.
