Silva dismisses João Mario link

Monday, 20 May, 2019 16comments  |  Jump to most recent

Marco Silva has played down suggestions Everton might sign João Mario this summer.

The Blues' boss was responding to reports in Italy that the midfielder had been offered to Everton for around £15m, speculation that might have played on the Portuguese pair's prior association at Sporting.

Mario joined Inter in 2016 and has made 64 league appearances for them while also spending half a season on loan with West Ham last year but could be on the move again this summer.

"João Mário is a player of Inter and there is nothing more than that," Silva told O Jogo in his native Portugal.

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"He was my player, I was the one who put him in the main team of Sporting. He had a very good season, but at the moment he is not on the table."

However, Silva reiterated his desire to see André Gomes's loan move from Barcelona made permanent but admitted that it was dependent on both the player and his parent club.

“There is a Portuguese player in the squad that we want, which is André Gomes,” he explained.

“The signing of him does not depend on us alone, if that were the case, we would have already done it, it also depends on Barcelona and André Gomes.

“He was very important to us and we were important to him as well, he is a great player with an excellent quality.”

Quotes sourced from O Jogo



Reader Comments (16)

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Gio Mero
1 Posted 20/05/2019 at 16:41:34
Inter Milan supporters would happily pay for Joao Mario's plane ticket to Liverpool
Derek Knox
2 Posted 20/05/2019 at 17:03:19
Gio, thanks for the 'heads up' on that one, we have had mixed reports on this site, from being a bargain, to leave well alone.

I personally remember him being at West Ham, but that is about it, in the cameos I saw of him, he didn't pull up any trees, or set any fires.

Always helps from someone who has first hand knowledge, which I presume you have.

Paul Birmingham
3 Posted 20/05/2019 at 17:07:15
I hope this is the usual media hype at this time of year. I spoke with a West Ham mate, who said he wasn't good enough, when he was there on loan.

Hopefully this is a rumour and with no foundation.

Jack Convery
4 Posted 20/05/2019 at 17:36:11
He never impressed me when playing for Portugal. I never figured out what he was supposed to be as a midfielder - neither fish nor fowl - as Holmes would say. Keep well away.
Liam Reilly
5 Posted 20/05/2019 at 17:37:20
I DON'T remember him at West Ham. That says it all for me really.
Alexander Murphy
6 Posted 20/05/2019 at 18:20:21
“There is a Portuguese player in the squad that we want, which is André Gomes,” he (MS) explained.

That's the kind of talk that we need to hear from our Manager.

You go get him Marco.

Alan J Thompson
7 Posted 21/05/2019 at 06:29:22
Not sure he sounds too confident of getting Gomes unless he thinks he disliked his time at Barca so much that geeing him up will help sway the deal.
Steven Astley
8 Posted 21/05/2019 at 13:28:46
Liam #5... I don't remember ANY players that have played for West Ham. That says it all!
Steve Ferns
9 Posted 21/05/2019 at 15:04:47
The thing with Joao Mario is that he's had two wonderful seasons, two mixed seasons and one poor season. The best of them occurred under Marco Silva 4 years ago. Silva knows him inside out. Whilst he didn't give him his debut he did give him his first run in the side and made him the player he is. We have to trust Silva's decision on this one.

For me, the player I saw between 5 and 3 years ago for Sporting was a fantastic player. Like a stockier version of Pienaar. Small, but tenacious. Quick feet. Moved the ball well, with excellent short passing, but not quite as accurate over the greater range. If you played him in a technical side, he would excel. He has a great one touch game. He can use his quick feet to get through congested areas. He can play wide on the right, but lacks pure pace to race down the wing. His trickery is better in confined spaces than beating a man out wide, and he's stuck on the wing more because a manager doesn't trust him in the middle.

When he's not good enough, he is a passenger and the game happens around him. He can look a little lost. It didn't happen very often for Sporting. He was mainly excellent. He was the best central midfielder, in a trio with Adrien Silva (the guy Leicester bought but registered too late to play and then never got going and ended up on loan at Monaco in a swap for Tielemens) and William Carvalho. William Carvalho sat and protected Joao and Adrien and allowed them freedom to attack. If Schniederlin sat and protected and allowed a combination of Sigurdsson or Gomes to attack with Joao then I think he could do well. At Sporting they had rapid wingers, Nani (formerly of Man Utd) on the left and André Carrillo on the right (the guy Silva took to Watford and did well for Peru in the world cup). Up front was Islam Slimani who was a big strong focal point, and Freddy Montero who was the pacy alternative. Sporting were at their best on the counter attack when Joao Mario would play a key role, with his quick feet, quick brain, and ability to slide the ball wide to the wingers.

Where Joao Mario would offer us something we struggle with is breaking through stubborn opponents. For me, we need to improve most when playing against teams who sit 11 players behind the ball. Joao Mario is a player who can help us by having the ability to play a quick one-two to beat a man and open things up. He could dovetail well with Bernard with some quick passing and open up space for someone like Sigurdsson or Richarlison. He could also speed up the transitions and allow us to move the ball much quicker, particularly getting the ball to Calvert-Lewin whilst he still has space to run into, rather than getting it to him when he has his back to goal.

What I saw for West Ham was a decent player who was just getting going. He had mixed reviews, but it seemed the more popular opinion amongst West Ham fans was that they should sign him permanently. It seems he's really struggled for Inter again this season, but it does not seem that they really gave him enough games to really show what he can do.

I think there's definitely a player there, that Silva knows him inside out, and if we bring him in, then he could be a revelation. However, if Silva of all people think that £15m for a player bought 3 years ago for €36m is too much, then he makes the decision for good reason.

Jay Harris
10 Posted 21/05/2019 at 15:44:26
Steve,
You mentioned a player there that I had high hopes for and wished we had signed and that was Slimani.

What has happened to him?

Mike Gaynes
11 Posted 21/05/2019 at 17:14:28
Jay #10...

Slimani has been pretty dismal after his decent 2016-17 for Leicester in which he scored 7 in 23, including one against us. Last season he scored one goal in the league, although he did add 4 in 3 league cup matches, and was loaned to Newcastle in January 2018. Got hurt, then suspended, did nothing.

Was loaned to Fenerbahce last summer. Complete flop in Turkey... scored one goal in the league and 3 more in the Europa League. Hasn't even made Fenerbahce's matchday squad since February.

Rumor has it Leicester will now sell him back to Sporting Lisbon for a whole lot less than the £28 million they paid for him. He's now 30.

Steve Ferns
12 Posted 21/05/2019 at 19:00:22
Mike answered your question. It also shows the gulf between the Portuguese and the English Premier League. One guy I always caution about is that big donkey Bas Dost. He’s scored 76 goals in 81 league games in Portugal. He’s utter dog shit though.
Gio Mero
13 Posted 21/05/2019 at 20:13:35
Steve, I really appreciate your tactical analysis I wish I knew football as well as you.

But I was born an Inter Milan supporter and I guarantee you never the neroazzurri fans have reached such a unanimity in their judgment of a player, you won't find a voice outside the chorus.

The last thing I wish is for Inter to offload him to us that would be something little short of a curse for me.

By the way not sure the news made it onto the UK media but he was sent home from training last week for showing poor effort in a team where nobody seems to be trying too hard to begin with

Peter Gorman
14 Posted 22/05/2019 at 09:21:31
Steve; "If you played him in a technical side, he would excel. He has a great one touch game"

why does Davy Klaasen spring to mind.

Jimmy Hogan
15 Posted 22/05/2019 at 09:31:02
Steven #8, Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand. There are a few
Sam Hoare
16 Posted 22/05/2019 at 10:08:58
I think Steve@9 is talking sense as per usual. I would not be that excited by Mario but he is a sound player whose qualities Silva knows well and is probably underpriced after an underwhelming season at Inter. He's only just 26 so a decent age and would be good value I think at £15m, i'd back him to get more goals than Gomes. That said I think there are better midfield options out there. He wouldn't be top of my list and I'm not sure he will be top of Brands/Silva, perhaps one to look at if the top picks are proving difficult.

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