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 Park exit on social media, posting a “thank you” message to Everton on his Instagram account as he prepared for the next step in his career. It was a quiet goodbye, but a decisive one.

Everton had only just laid out their plans for the teenager. On June 10, in the same communication that revealed they were still in talks with Idrissa Gueye over his future, the club announced that Akarakiri had been offered a new contract. Melvin Matos and Rocco Lambert received similar offers, while fellow Under-18s players 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 road.

The London-born midfielder, who joined Everton in 2024 after spending a decade in Arsenal’s academy, has opted to pursue a quicker route to senior football in Italy. Cagliari, who finished 14th in Serie A last season under Fabio Pisacane, are presenting themselves as that opportunity: a club willing to gamble on youth and give it a genuine stage.

Reports in Italy underline how highly they rate him. 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 deal. For a player who has yet to taste Premier League football, that is a striking show of faith.

Inside Cagliari, the move is being framed as a statement. Corriere dello Sport describe the signing as “a significant coup” for new sporting director Pietro Accardi, the man tasked with reshaping the club’s recruitment. The strategy is clear: identify young talent, buy at the right price, develop, and sell at a premium. Akarakiri is being positioned as a flagship example of that plan.

The ambition around him is not limited to the boardroom. Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini has openly hinted at the transfer, making it clear this is not a signing for the youth ranks. His message was pointed: a teenager arriving from the Premier League is not heading to Italy just to play academy football. The club are pitching an immediate place in their senior matchday squads.

For Akarakiri, it is a bold break from the familiar comfort of English academies and the long, congested queue to the first team. For Cagliari, it is a calculated bet that a player Everton wanted to keep can grow faster, and shine brighter, in Serie A.