Demi Akarakiri Set for Cagliari Move from Everton

Demi Akarakiri is on the brink of swapping Merseyside for Sardinia, with the Everton midfielder closing in on a move to Serie A side Cagliari.

The 18-year-old appeared to confirm his Goodison exit himself. A post on his Instagram account carried a clear message of thanks to Everton, a farewell note from a player who has decided his future lies elsewhere.

Everton had publicly offered Akarakiri a new deal on June 10, the same day they announced ongoing talks with Idrissa Gueye over the Senegal international’s future. In that update, the club revealed fresh contract offers for Akarakiri, Melvin Matos and Rocco Lambert, while confirming that fellow Under-18s players Goodness Gospel-Eze, Louis Poland, Charlie Stewart and Kean Wren would depart when their deals expired at the end of June.

Akarakiri has chosen a different route.

The London-born midfielder only arrived at Finch Farm in 2024 after a decade in Arsenal’s academy, but rather than wait in line for a Premier League breakthrough, he is pushing for a faster route to senior football in Italy. Cagliari, who finished 14th in Serie A last season under Fabio Pisacane, are offering exactly that: a pathway straight towards the first team, not a holding pattern in youth football.

Reports in Italy underline how serious the move has become. 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 Cagliari.

“a significant coup” for new sporting director Pietro Accardi, a symbol of a fresh recruitment strategy in Sardinia.

Cagliari are now targeting young talent at relatively low cost, with the clear intention of developing and selling at a premium.

The president has not exactly kept it a secret, either. Cagliari chief Tommaso Giulini has openly hinted at the move, stressing that a teenager arriving from the Premier League is not coming to Italy just to bolster the youth ranks. The message is blunt: the club are pitching him an immediate place in their senior matchday squads.

For Everton, it is the swift end of a short chapter with a player they hoped to keep. For Akarakiri, it is a gamble on himself, a leap from academy promise in England to the hard edge of Serie A. The next question is simple: how quickly can he turn that promise into a permanent place in Cagliari’s first team?