Everton reportedly made a late bid to sign Beto on the deadline day and Udinese director Pierpaolo Marino confirms the Bianconeri received ‘important offers’ for their star striker in January.
Marino spoke at a press conference on Thursday, unveiling Udinese’s new signing Florian Thauvin.
“He will surely bring more enthusiasm to the Dacia Arena,” said Marino as quoted by Tuttomercatoweb.
The 2018 France World Cup winner was drafted in to replace Gerard Deulofeu who has been forced to the sidelines for several weeks following knee surgery.
Marino went on to discuss Udinese’s transfer strategy in January.
“We received important offers on the deadline day, especially for Beto, any other club would have accepted,” claimed Marino.
“What you read is true, if we had owners with less passion, we might have had nasty surprises, but the family Pozzo wanted to keep all the big players and sustained us with a big signing.
“We signed three players replacing three others leaving and I think we’ve strengthened the team.”
Beto joined Udinese from Portuguese side Portimonense in 2021 for €7m and has scored 18 goals in 50 appearances with the Serie A side. His contract at the Dacia Arena expires in June 2026. He’s Udinese’s best scorer this season with seven goals in 21 games.
Everton reportedly sounded out Atalanta for Duvan Zapata during the January transfer window and even considered Nicolò Zaniolo of Roma, but the Giallorossi refused to send the player out on loan, looking for a permanent transfer or a loan deal with an obligation to buy.