In the summer of 2019, Paris Saint-Germain was in the hunt for a workhorse midfielder. The club had lost several midfield talents over the summer, including Adrien Rabiot. Thus, the club aimed to shore up depth concerns regarding the position.
PSG surveyed the market and focused its attention on now-former Napoli midfielder Allan. The club showed great interest in signing the Brazilian talent but no deal ever came to fruition. One year later, Napoli finally decided to sell Allan, but not to PSG. Instead, Allan completed a transfer deal to Premier League side Everton.
Current Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti helped bring Allan to the English side thanks to his previous ties with the talent. Ancelotti managed Allan for two campaigns while at Napoli and helped keep him with the Italian side amid interest from teams such as PSG. In a recent press conference (via AS), Ancelotti reflected on just why Allan did not complete a move to PSG last year.
“Yes, [PSG] tried to sign him but I didn’t want him to leave so he stayed with me,” Ancelotti said. “I don’t know whether it was [€60 million], I’m not focused about the money. There was a deal and I think that Everton are happy to have this deal.”
PSG still remains in the hunt for a workhorse midfield talent one year later.
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