Everton are preparing to sell a significant part of their squad this summer when they want to raise money for the new manager Rafa Benitez.
Benitez’s appointment has been met with skepticism from some Everton supporters, given his obvious ties to rivals Liverpool, but he insists his loyalty will soon be forgotten if he returns success to Goodison Park.
To do so, however, he has acknowledged that players must be sold, and the Telegraph says that as many as six major players can be downloaded to raise money.
Rodriguez is the title of the list, and Everton feel they can raise a significant amount for the 30-year-old. Rodriguez enjoyed a productive season during his maiden year in the Premier League, but he is one of Toffee’s highest earners, and Carlo Ancelotti’s departure – whose presence played a major role in attracting him to England – could spell the end of his time at Merseyside.
But he is far from the only one, as Andre Gomes, Bernard, Fabian Delph, Yerry Mina and Cenk Tosun could all be sacrificed to free up space for new signings.
Ancelotti’s departure could pave the way for James Rodriguez to leave Everton / Pool / Getty Images
Everton have spent a lot of money on transfers in recent seasons and risk violating financial fair play rules if they spend more without balancing it with sales. Benitez admitted just as much when he spoke to the press this week.
“Everyone knows that this club has spent a lot of money in recent years, so you have to respect the FFP rules and you have to handle it in the best possible way. If you have players with large salaries who do not normally play, you want to find a solution, and this solution means that you have money to spend on new players.
“This is something that is very common in modern football, so we will try to maximize what we have to be sure that we can bring in quality and players who will make the squad strong.”
? Excl: #Everton are keen to strengthen at right-back this summer, with # NCFC’s Max Aarons and # EURO2020 star Denzel Dumfries as their two primary goals.
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– Toby Cudworth (@Toby_Cudworth) July 10, 2021
90min understands that a new right-back is high on Benitez’s priority signing list and there is great interest in Norwich’s Max Aarons and PSV captain Denzel Dumfries, who played for the Netherlands at Euro 2020.
