Everton are no longer in the race for Lille’s Gabriel Magalhaes, pulling out over a disagreement in the valuation of the player, according to reports.

The Liverpool Echo report that Everton are now ready to end their pursuit of Lille centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes. They’re refusing to pay over €25m (£22.6m) for the defender, which both Arsenal and Napoli are offering.

Everton were actually willing to pay as much as £30m for the player before the coronavirus shutdown. But they tried and failed to renegotiate the deal after the pandemic hit their finances. They won’t take part in a bidding war with the other clubs after him.

The Echo claim Arsenal are now the favourites, due to Napoli’s need to sell Kalidou Koulibaly before completing the deal. That looks extremely unlikely to happen in the next couple of days, which is when Gabriel will reportedly make his decision.

That decision isn’t final just yet, though, with Football.London claiming Gabriel is yet to give a firm indication of his next club.

The 22-year-old Brazilian made 34 appearances for Lille this season before the early end to the French domestic campaign. Given his club only played 40 matches in all competitions, he was certainly a regular.

The defender is strong in the air and in the tackle, and also left-footed, suiting Arteta’s profile for the position.