Everton are testing the waters in Italy. A formal opening bid of €15m has gone in for Genoa right-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy. The Serie A side want closer to €20m for the 22-year-old. But there is a feeling in both camps that the distance between them is shrinking. It is a negotiation with legs. This is not a dead end.
Everton table opening bid for Genoa right-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy as clubs edge closer to agreement
Sean Lunt, via Sport Witness, suggests that the mood around the talks is quietly positive. Everton‘s desperate hunt for a specialist right-back has dragged on across two transfer windows. Last season, manager David Moyes was forced to use central defender Jake O’Brien out wide for long stretches. The hunt is very much alive, and Norton-Cuffy appears to be leading the pack.
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Moyes has spent months trying to paper over a massive crack. When Seamus Coleman departed, he left a void, a gaping, uncontested space on the right side of the defence. Last summer, the board chased Fulham full-back Kenny Tete with single-minded desperation. It went nowhere. Tete stayed put at Craven Cottage, signing a new contract, and Everton ended the window without a single right-back coming through the door.
What followed was a campaign of pure improvisation. O’Brien, a natural centre-half, spent large chunks of the season being dragged out wide to play right-back. James Garner filled in, too. It was a case of square pegs in round holes. O’Brien fought admirably, but asking a towering central defender to track nippy Premier League wingers carries obvious long-term risk. The squad was crying out for a natural fit.
T4O Opinion: Is Norton-Cuffy worth Genoa’s hefty markup?
GENOA, ITALY – MARCH 20: Brooke Norton-Cuffy of Genoa is challenged by Jakub Piotrowski of Udinese Calcio, whilst under pressure from Nicolo Bertola of Udinese Calcio, during the Serie A match between Genoa CFC and Udinese Calcio at Luigi Ferraris Stadium on March 20, 2026 in Genoa, Italy. (Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images)
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Enter Norton-Cuffy. The England under-21 European Championship winner moved to Italy from Arsenal in August 2024 for a modest €2m. Now, Genoa want 10 times that amount, a massive 900% markup in less than two years. Football finances are bordering on the absurd, and Everton know it.
Let’s look at the actual output. Last season, the youngster racked up 27 Serie A appearances. He started 25 of those matches, logging over 2,200 minutes of competitive Italian football. He scored twice, including a neat finish in a comfortable 3-0 victory against Torino in February, and registered one assist. The data shows a solid, if unspectacular, year. A WhoScored rating of 6.6 and a FotMob average of 6.8 tell a story of a raw player finding his feet.
There is a disciplinary edge to iron out, too. Five bookings and a red card are slightly worrying for a defender joining a team that cannot afford silly mistakes. Paying €20m for a developmental prospect feels like a gamble. That kind of money usually buys you a proven, ready-to-go Premier League performer.
Norton-Cuffy has the physical traits. He is fast, direct, loves to run at opposition wingers, and carries a decent goal threat. Transfermarkt prices him exactly at Everton’s €15m opening offer. Dragging this out over another two weeks is a luxury Moyes does not have. The club cannot afford to let another transfer window pass without fixing this glaring vulnerability. Meeting Genoa halfway, perhaps somewhere around €16-17m, makes complete sense. Getting the player through the door before the final whistle of pre-season is far more important than saving a couple of million.