Marcel Brands can slash the £17.4m deficit wasted on Bernard by agreeing to sell the outcast Everton midfielder to Real Betis this summer.

What’s the word?

According to Spanish reports, former Manchester City and West Ham United boss Manuel Pellegrini is keen to see Bernard secure a move to La Liga.

The Chilean tactician is eager to strengthen his wide-left options at the Benito Villamarin Stadium with a player capable of extracting the most from Sergio Canales and Nabil Fekir.

Bernard is understood to be a high priority target for Pellegrini after he brought up the 28-year-old in discussions with the Verdiblancos hierarchy.

Pellegrini feels Bernard has the ability to help raise the quality of his squad and make Real Betis one of the best sides in Spain’s top-flight, while Everton’s €12m (£10.5m) asking price is not expected to be a challenge.

Bernard would consider accepting a lesser salary to complete a move to the Andalusian side if the Verdiblancos can secure European football for next season.

Real Betis are currently competing with Real Sociedad and Villarreal for a spot in the Europa League, with a 14-point gap to the Champions League places with eight games remaining.

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Everton are reportedly planning to sell Bernard at the end of the season, having failed to find a suitor willing to match their asking price during the winter window.

Should Everton let Bernard join Real Betis?

Everton’s Director of Football Brands should jump at the chance to sell Bernard to Real Betis if Pellegrini’s side have no issue paying close to £10m for the Brazilian, as it would allow the Dutchman to slash the deficit wasted on his signing.

While Bernard moved to Goodison Park as a free agent after he was released by Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018, the Toffees handed him a £120,000-per-week contract that saw the 14-cap international become the club’s joint-highest earner, per Spotrac figures.

Those terms will see that Bernard will have earned £17.4m by the end of the current Premier League campaign, having been on Merseyside for 145 weeks, but his performances have hardly befitted the wage given to him.

To date in his Everton career, Bernard has only offered eight goals and seven assists over 81 appearances in all competitions, with only nine of those outings coming in this term’s top-flight campaign.

Carlo Ancelotti has only started the Belo Horizonte-born playmaker for three of those league appearances, too, while leaving him on the bench 17 times as an unused substitute.

It would presumably be impossible for Everton to recoup all of the funds wasted on Bernard in any transfer, with the midfielder out of contract in 2022, but making back more than half will be seen as a best-case scenario for Brands.

AND in other news, an “outstanding” talent is keen to join Everton this summer, but there’s a hitch…