Everton are pushing to re-sign Idrissa Gueye from Paris Saint-Germain.
Gueye spent three years at Goodison Park between 2016 and 2019, making 99 appearances, before sealing a £30 million move to the French capital.
But he could be set to return to Merseyside as Frank Lampard bids to bolster his midfield options before the Blues’ Premier League opener with Chelsea.
The Senegal international appears to have failed to find favour with new PSG manager Christophe Galtier not expected to include him in the club’s plans.
Talks between Les Parisiens and the Goodison hierarchy are ongoing in efforts to strike a deal that would see Gueye drafted in on a permanent deal.
However Everton currently have no plans to entertain the possibility of Ross Barkley returning to his boyhood club, some four years after his departure.
Barkley joined Chelsea for £15m in January 2018 after a protracted stand-off over his future which saw the playmaker’s contract enter its final six months.
More to follow