Everton linked with Real Madrid’s chief scout Juni Calafat

Everton are weighing up a swoop for Real Madrid’s chief scout Juni Calafat.

Under Calafat’s watch, precocious talents such as Martin Odegaard, Vinicius Junior, Fede Valverde and Reinier Jesus have all moved to the Bernabeu.

A large portion of Los Blancos’ players scouted by the highly-regarded Brazilian were sourced from his homeland, with Reinier becoming the latest.

The teenager is Real’s third player to join from the country in the past two years and reflected a growing desire to procure a team for the future.
Florentino Perez, the club’s president, admitted at Reinier’s unveiling earlier this week that the forward’s arrival was a statement of their youth strategy.

He said: “It is our obsession to look for players who could be the big stars of tomorrow.”

Calafat became Real’s head of recruitment in South America upon his 2014 arrival but now oversees their entire international football department.
According to the Telegraph, several Premier League clubs have turned their attention to luring the talent spotter with the Blues identified as a forerunner.

Chelsea and Everton’s local rivals Liverpool are also credited an interest in adding Calafat to their own scouting operations.

Everton’s director of football Marcel Brands is currently tasked with restructuring both the club’s wage bill and transfer operations.