Demi Akarakiri Set to Join Cagliari from Everton

Demi Akarakiri is on the brink of walking away from Everton’s academy comfort and straight into the heat of Serie A with Cagliari.

The 18-year-old midfielder, highly regarded inside Finch Farm, has all but confirmed his Goodison exit with a pointed message on Instagram, posting a “thank you” to Everton that read like a farewell rather than a pause. For a player only offered a new deal days earlier, the direction of travel now looks clear.

Back on June 10, Everton grouped Akarakiri into a wider youth reshuffle. While the club announced they were still in talks with Idrissa Gueye over his future, they revealed fresh contract offers for Akarakiri, Melvin Matos and Rocco Lambert. At the same time, fellow Under-18s prospects Goodness Gospel-Eze, Louis Poland, Charlie Stewart and Kean Wren were told they would depart at the end of June when their deals expired.

On paper, Akarakiri had a route to stay. In reality, he has chosen a different road.

The London-born midfielder, who joined Everton in 2024 after a decade in Arsenal’s academy, has decided not to wait in a long Premier League queue. Instead, he is chasing a faster track to senior football with Cagliari, the Sardinian club that finished 14th in Serie A last season under Fabio Pisacane.

The pressure from Italy has been growing. 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. For an 18-year-old yet to taste first-team football in England, that is a serious commitment on both sides.

Inside Cagliari, this is being framed as a statement move. The Italian report describes the signing of Akarakiri as “a significant coup” for new sporting director Pietro Accardi, a clear signal of the club’s changing transfer strategy. The plan is blunt: recruit smart, recruit young, recruit cheap – then sell at a premium.

Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini has not exactly played it down. He has openly hinted that the teenager is not being brought in to hide in the youth ranks, making it clear that a player arriving from the Premier League is expected to step straight into contention for senior matchday squads. For Akarakiri, that promise of proximity to the first team is the kind of offer that can tilt a career decision overnight.

So a player who spent ten formative years in Arsenal’s academy, then crossed to Everton in search of opportunity, now looks set to take an even bigger leap. From the English youth system to the tactical grind of Serie A, from under-18 fixtures to the possibility of facing some of Europe’s sharpest midfielders.

If Cagliari deliver on their pitch of immediate involvement, Akarakiri’s gamble could turn into one of the more intriguing development stories of the season.