Everton could yet add another midfielder to their ranks this summer, but Morten Hjulmund appears to be off the table.
It has been reported this afternoon by Fabrizio Romano that an agreement has been reached for Hjulmand’s transfer, with Atletico Madrid paying Sporting CP around €40m fee plus add-ons.
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Atleti have long admired Hjulmand, but Sporting had previously placed a valuation that proved prohibitive for them.
But the Spanish side have now made a breakthrough, and it’s expected Hjulmand will soon be officially announced, with paperwork currently being exchanged. The player will fly to Madrid today.
Everton had shown interest in Hjulmand recently.
But the club will now need to look elsewhere, and Sander Berge might make for the perfect alternative.
Everton should go after Sander Berge as Toffees miss out on Morten Hjulmand
Everton are likely to need more midfield recruits, because it looks like Idrissa Gana Gueye is leaving, with Tim Iroegbunam and Charly Alcaraz potentially also departing.
Hjulmand would have been a nice player to sign, having been a great servant for Sporting.
The Dane has helped them to win two league titles in the last three seasons, and has made over 140 appearances for the club. He has also been Sporting’s captain.
But he’s now bound for Spain, and Everton will need to look elsewhere.
And they should perhaps look no further than Sander Berge, who is another player Everton have been linked with in recent weeks.
Berge recently dominated Brazil at the World Cup, and is not so dissimilar to Hjulmand in terms of position and physical profile.
He’s a few inches taller than his fellow Scandinavian, but does an equally good job at providing protection for his back four.
As per Squawka, their passing accuracy in their respective leagues last season was virtually the same (Berge 90%, Hjulmand 91%).
And their aerial and ground duels were also quite similar, with Berge having 61% and 50%, vs 70% and 67% for Hjulmand.
Berge won a fair amount more combined interceptions, tackles and blocks, though (92 vs 56).
A potentially key factor for Moyes, though, could be the fact that Berge obviously has a lot of Premier League experience, having appeared 132 times in the top-flight so far.
So Everton need not be too disappointed over Hjulmand if they manage to bring in Berge this summer.
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