CARLO ANCELOTTI will block any bid by Manchester United for Richarlison.
The new Everton boss sees the Brazilian as central to his re-building plans and has already declared he will not go into the market for a new striker next month.
Ancelotti began life at Goodison with a 1-0 win over BurnleyCredit: Getty – Contributor
Richarlison has eight goals for the season so farCredit: Reuters
And even if United were to come in with £70MILLION Ancelotti has ultimate power in terms of buying and selling despite the presence of director of football Marcel Brands. United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been considering a swoop for the 22-year-old for months.
He was seen by Solskjaer not as an alternative to RB Salzburg’s strike whizkid Erling Haaland but also as an exciting potential acquisition in his own right.
And before he was sacked Ancelotti’s predecessor Marco Silva admitted Richarlison was on the radar of United. But Richarlison, bought from Watford for £40m, will be going nowhere.
He signed a new five- year deal late last month after arriving in 2017 and is one of three young attackers Ancelotti wants to take the club forward.
The Italian complained after his 1-0 debut Boxing Day win over Burnley that his attackers must do better.
Despite Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s late winner he said: “We have to be more efficient up front — there we can improve.”
As he prepared for today’s visit to Newcastle today in search of his 50th Premier League win having also bossed Chelsea to the title he admitted he will be looking for “one or two new players” in January.
But Richarlison, Calvert- Lewin and misfiring £36m Moise Kean can relax.
Ancelotti says he will sit down with Brands for discussions on transfer targets over the transfer window AFTER the January 5 FA Cup third-round Merseyside derby with Liverpool.
Even then any plans will surround different positions than up front.
Ancelotti stressed: “For sure, I am not asking for a striker because up front we are really good. Anyway, we don’t talk about this until January 5.
“After that we can talk if we need something or not.”
Ancelotti, however, already knows he needs a centre-back because he only has three in Yerry Mina, Mason Holgate and Michael Keane at his disposal.
One defender is will look at is Barcelona’s £22m-rated 19-year-old Jean-Clair Todibo.
He may well also go back to his last club Napoli for Polish midfielder Piotr Zielinski, 25.
Meanwhile, Toon midfielder Matty Longstaff is determined to quickly bounce back from their loss at Manchester United and “put it right” against Everton.
After scoring the winner for his boyhood club on a dream top-flight debut against the Red Devils in October, he looked to be the scourge of United once more. Longstaff, 19, coolly fired Newcastle ahead at Old Trafford on Boxing Day, only for the hosts to hit back and win 4-1.
The midfielder said: “We’re very disappointed.
“We’ve shot ourselves in the foot there with a few mistakes.
“But it happens in football and we’ve got to get on with it. The good thing is we get the chance to put it right against Everton.
“We’ve got some big characters so I’m sure we’ll be ready. We also have the best fans in the league.”
New Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti says it is his dream to bring the club to the top of the Premier League
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
