Funes Mori joins Villarreal

Villarreal have signed Ramiro Funes Mori, previously with Everton, to a four-year contract. The 27 year-old Argentine center-back joined the Toffees in 2015 from River Plate for around €12.5m; exactly what Villarreal is paying for him now hasn’t been confirmed, but he has already signed a four-year deal with us.

I seem to remember hearing his name bandied about as a potential signing when he was still in Argentina (i.e. 2014-15), but there had not been a peep about this one in the papers or transfer rumor sites. Yes, Funes Mori was rumored to be possibly leaving Everton, but for Middlesborough. The news caught Everton fans by as much surprise as us!

What sort of player is he? Good in the air, good at intercepting the ball, and good at passing. He had a knee operation which kept him out of action for almost the entire 2016-17 season; until that happened in March 2017, he had been a regular starter for Everton.

He’s already passed his medical, so good.

Now, the questions:

(1) Was the Albiol interest merely a smokescreen? If not, it’s doubtful we are still interested.

(2) Does this mean Ruiz is on his way out?

(3) Or are we deciding not to sign Bonera again?

At the moment, we have Funes Mori, Alvaro, Ruiz, and possibly Bonera as centerbacks.

It does seem pretty clear Sidnei is not arriving, so we can put that rumor to bed.