Everton are moving closer to signing defender Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille, having agreed provisional personal terms with the Brazilian centre-back, Football Insider reports.
The central defender has been a regular at the heart of Lille’s defence during the current campaign and he has already made 34 appearances across all competitions.
His performances have grabbed the attention of the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal but the Toffees appear to be leading the race to sign the Brazil Under-23 international.
According to Football Insider, the Merseyside giants have offered a five-year contract to the 22-year-old centre-back which has been provisionally accepted.
The same publication cites that the club have made a bid of around £30m for the central defender and that is likely to be sufficient to push through the transfer.
Magalhaes has impressed with his strong tackling and aerial abilities in the box and he should provide an improvement on the existing options at the Toffees.
Michael Keane, Mason Holgate and Yerry Mina have shared the central defensive duties under Carlo Ancelotti on a rotational basis but the Italian will want to settle on a permanent partnership next term.
Gabriel will definitely take up one of the central defensive positions, if he makes the move, and his partner could be decided, based on the trio’s performances for the rest of the campaign or pre-season.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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