Everton have rejected an £85 million bid from Barcelona for Richarlison, according to Sky Sports.
The Brazilian striker signed to Everton from Watford in 2018 for £40 million. He led the Toffees as joint goalscorer in his first year with 14 strikes in all competitions. He has since scored 24 goals in 65 games for the Toffees, with 10 goals coming in 27 of those games this season.
Everton rewarded the forward with a new five-year contract last December.
Should Everton sell one of its prized assets?
The Catalan giants want the 22-year-old Richarlison as a replacement for the injured Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan is expected to be out for the rest of the season.
Richarlison is one of the best young attacking talents in Europe’s top five leagues. Of players aged 22 or younger, only two players Kylian Mbappé (45) and Jadon Sancho (23) have scored more non-penalty goals than Richarlison (21).
The invaluable Richarlison also earned more ball recoveries (283) in the Premier League since the start of last season. Wilfried Zaha and Sadio Mane are second with 257 and 242 apiece.
Carlo Ancelotti is obviously in no rush to cash on the in-form striker despite the exorbitant £85m offer.
The Italian boss wants to continue strengthening the squad, and Richarlison is the team’s most prized asset.
But Barcelona’s bid does raise into question the true value of Richarlison: Is the player worth £85m (€100M) to begin with?
