Everton are in talks to sign Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Chelsea after having a second bid rejected for Southampton winger Tyler Dibling.
A new No 8 is a priority for Everton boss David Moyes along with a defensive midfielder, with Leicester’s Wilfried Ndidi one they like.
Dewsbury-Hall only joined Chelsea last summer, having impressed in Leicester’s Championship-winning campaign, and made 36 appearances, but started just two Premier League games.
Everton’s offer for Dibling was understood to be worth an initial £35m plus £8m in add-ons, a considerable increase from their opening bid of around £27m.
Southampton had claimed earlier in the year that they would only be willing to sell the 19-year-old for £100m, but their valuation is thought to be £45m.
It remains to be seen whether Everton will follow up with another bid for Dibling, with Lyon’s Malick Fofana another winger target of theirs.
Dibling has two years remaining on his current contract at St Mary’s and Aston Villa, Chelsea, Tottenham and RB Leipzig have all previously shown an interest in him.
Moyes: Everton not ready for new season – we need signings
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Everton boss David Moyes admits his team are ‘not ready’ for the Premier League season
Moyes admitted last week that the club is “not ready” to start the season due to a lack of signings.
“We’re not ready to perform well enough in this tournament (Premier League Summer Series). We’re not ready to start the Premier League season,” said Moyes.
“I’m not overly concerned [by the results] because I don’t have the players that I need and what I want. And obviously, we’re up against it right from the start. We knew before we came [to the US] we were going to be really up against it. So, it was never going to be us coming here and winning [games].”
Speaking after Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Man Utd in the final game of the Premier League’s Summer Series, he said: “I think there will be deals next week, we’re getting much closer.
“But I have to say, I felt that four or five weeks ago as well, but we’re getting near the tickly bit soon and we’ve got to get some things done.
“We have to make several additions, we know that, even for the numbers. We have people in the squad where we’d maybe like to put them out on loan or do other things with them.
“So we’re needing generally to add to the squad and we need to get some of the main players in quickly.”
Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season
From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
