Everton director of football Marcel Brands has shed light on the summer signing of Yerry Mina from Barcelona, insisting that the Catalonian club used Manchester United to negotiate a higher fee.
Mina, 23, was mooted to part company with the Catalan giants throughout the summer, but his departure from the Camp Nou only came to fruition on deadline day last week.
The Colombian centre-back shot to prominence during the World Cup finals this summer after his three goals helped the South American side reach the Round of 16.
His performances attracted interest from a number of European clubs, and the Toffees were vying for his signature alongside Manchester United, though the latter reportedly pulled out due to escalating agent fees.
However, Brands has denied these claims, insisting Barcelona sensationalised the supposed interest from the Red Devils to demand a higher fee for the player.
“No, no, it was really simple behind the scenes,” he told The Guardian when asked if a premium had been paid.
“I put the offer in and Barcelona asked for a totally different amount that we would never have paid. Then they said: ‘OK, we will wait until the end of the market.’
“We never changed our offer. That was a bit of a gamble because everyone was writing about Man United [wanting Mina] and Barcelona used that, agents used that, everyone used it.
“I don’t know exactly if Man United were in. The player said constantly to me: ‘I want to go to Everton’. That was a great thing for us but you never know if Man United comes in and offers an extra £150,000 a week – every player would like to do that.
“I don’t know exactly the situation with Man United but of course Barcelona used it. They said to me: ‘Man Utd are coming in’. I don’t know if they did but I took a bit of a risk with that.
“That’s why we were also keen on back-ups, you never know, but after the weekend before the market closed I had a confident feeling about it.”
Deadline day success
Prior to deadline day, Everton had only recruited two significant signings under new boss Marco Silva: Richarlison from Watford and Lucas Digne from Barca.
However, the Toffees went into overdrive on the final day of the transfer window, bringing in no fewer than four players for around £30m.
Pint-sized Brazilian playmaker Bernard joined the Merseyside club on a free transfer after leaving Shakhtar Donetsk, while two more Barcelona players joined the ranks: Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes on a season-long loan.
Kurt Zouma also joined on a season-long loan from Premier League rivals Chelsea, and all four players will have the chance to showcase their talents when Everton take on Southampton at Goodison Park this weekend.
The post Barcelona used Man Utd in Yerry Mina move to Everton appeared first on Squawka News.
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