River Plate star Santiago Sosa has opened up on the "hurt" he felt when a transfer to Everton could not be finalised.
The 21-year-old was heavily linked with a switch to Goodison Park last summer with the Blues having been keeping tabs on the Argentine wonderkid.
Director of football Marcel Brands even ran the rule over the midfielder at the South American under-20 championships in 2019, where Sosa was named in the team of the tournament, but the club did not act on their interest.
This year, reports have continued to link Sosa with a switch to Merseyside with there being several suggestions in his homeland that Everton were pushing ahead for a move.
However, a deal was never completed as the player was reportedly unable to secure a work permit.
SportWitness report that Sosa's agent tried to get an agreement "over the line".
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And "despite the disappointment, it was made clear that Everton’s interest hadn’t gone away and it was very much felt that he could end up at the club at some point in the future".
Sosa has now commented on the situation and admitted his disappointment that interest could not progress to a transfer.
“The Everton thing was something very concrete,” he told TNT Sports.
“It did not end because I did not have European citizenship to go.
"It hurt me that it failed, but now I have changed the mentality, and I’m happy in River.”
