Demi Akarakiri Set to Join Cagliari from Everton

Demi Akarakiri is on the brink of walking away from Everton and into Serie A, with Cagliari closing in on a deal for the highly rated teenager.

The 18-year-old midfielder all but confirmed his Goodison Park exit with a farewell message on Instagram, thanking Everton as he prepares for the next step of his career. It is a swift and decisive turn from a player the club had only just tried to keep.

On June 10, Everton announced they were still in talks with Idrissa Gueye over his future and, in the same breath, revealed that Akarakiri had been offered a new contract. Melvin Matos and Rocco Lambert were also handed fresh terms, while fellow Under-18s prospects Goodness Gospel-Eze, Louis Poland, Charlie Stewart and Kean Wren were told they would leave at the end of June when their deals expired.

Akarakiri has chosen a different route.

The London-born midfielder, who joined Everton in 2024 after spending a decade in Arsenal’s academy, has decided not to wait in line on Merseyside. Instead, he is chasing a quicker route to senior football with Cagliari, a club that finished 14th in Serie A last season under Fabio Pisacane and is quietly reshaping its identity.

The move has gathered pace this week. Sport Witness, citing Corriere dello Sport, reported on Friday that Akarakiri underwent a medical in Rome on Thursday and is expected to sign a five-year contract with the Sardinian side.

Inside Cagliari, this is not being treated as a routine youth acquisition. The same report describes the signing as “a significant coup” for new sporting director Pietro Accardi, a clear signal of the club’s intent as they pivot towards a model of recruiting young talent at low cost and selling on for sizeable profit.

The ambition around Akarakiri has been echoed at the very top of the club. President Tommaso Giulini has openly hinted at the deal, stressing that a teenager arriving from the Premier League is not being brought in just to bolster the youth ranks. The message is blunt: Cagliari are pitching him an immediate place in their senior matchday squads.

For Everton, it is a reminder of how quickly the landscape can shift with emerging talent. A player they moved to secure with a new offer is now on the verge of committing his long-term future elsewhere. For Cagliari, it is a calculated gamble on a midfielder they believe can grow fast in Italy’s top flight.

If the five-year deal is signed as expected, Akarakiri will swap the promise of tomorrow at Finch Farm for the demands of today in Sardinia. The question now is not whether he will get his chance, but how quickly he can turn that opportunity into a foothold in Serie A.