Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes looks all set to join a Premier League club this summer but the player is yet to decide which one – according to rumours.
This current season, the centre-back has been one of the most talked-about defenders in Ligue 1 having played in 24 league matches for Lille.
The 22-year-old has been called a complete package by football expert Tom Williams who has also compared him with Kurt Zouma – but technically more sound than the Chelsea lad.
Williams told Echo: “It looks like he has the complete package for the modern centre-back.
“His skillset ticks so many boxes. He is strong, well-built, tall and very good in the air and he is someone who uses his body well in the tackle.
“He is very good at jockeying the forward, waiting for them to knock the ball a little too far in front and then just stepping across to ease them out of the way with his strength.
“Gabriel is more of a footballer than Kurt Zouma – technically he is better. But in terms of the way he goes about his defending, you could compare him to Zouma: a young, powerful centre-back who uses his physical strength to dominate opponents.”
Up until now, it was being reported that Everton have managed to wrap up the transfer for a fee of around 30 million pounds thanks to Carlo Ancelotti but now it looks like this news might not be true.
Gabriel Magalhaes indeed has met with Ancelotti and visited Everton facilities but the defender is yet to make a final call on his next move meaning both Chelsea and Arsenal still have a big chance of signing him.
30 million pounds is an amount which both the London clubs can easily afford right now and the Lille defender will be a serious upgrade to the players the defenders they currently have at their disposal.
Everton though are still standing in the front of the queue but if Chelsea and Arsenal push harder they might just be able to leap-frog over the Toffees in this transfer.
