Everton Transfer Update: Interest in Arsenal Attacker, Latest on Dele Alli

Everton’s summer transfer activities continue with both arrivals and departures expected. So far, Iliman Ndiaye from Marseille and Tim Iroegbunam from Aston Villa are the only permanent signings at Goodison Park. Meanwhile, Ben Godfrey and Lewis Dobbin have been sold for substantial fees.

Jack Harrison has rejoined Everton on loan from Leeds United for a second season. This deal involves no loan fee for the Toffees, who will cover 100 percent of the player’s wages.

Goodison News provides a roundup of the latest transfer market developments for Sean Dyche’s side.

Re-signing Dele Alli this summer will be challenging for Everton due to clauses in his transfer from Tottenham, reports Joe Thomas of the Liverpool Echo. Speaking on The Royal Blue Mersey YouTube channel (11 July), Thomas explained that while Alli has returned for pre-season, the terms of his original transfer complicate any potential new contract with Everton. If Everton were to offer Alli a new deal, they would still owe Spurs add-ons if he meets appearance-related clauses.

Thomas elaborated: “Whilst he’s out of contract with Everton, it’s not as simple as there’s no deal there so he can just sign for whoever he wants to for free. If it was Everton, I think there is an obligation on Everton to pay something to Spurs. I don’t know how much it is, but the terms of the original deal make it difficult for Everton to go back for Dele Alli without triggering something that is prohibitive for them. It’s not a free hit if they just offer him a contract and that’s part of the problem at the moment is trying to work their way through that.”

He continued, “The reality is and this remains the case now, is the terms of the deal that took him from Tottenham to Everton make it very difficult for Everton to contemplate giving him a proper chance of signing a new deal to get into the Everton first team. It’s not a free hit, it’s not as straightforward as he’s now out of contract, if he was to accept token wages or something could he end up signing for Everton again? It’s not the free hit that we’d all expect it to be.”

Regarding Everton’s pursuit of winger Philogene, Thomas noted that while the Toffees could still sign him, they trail behind Aston Villa and Ipswich Town in the race. No decision has been made on Philogene’s future, and Everton are already exploring alternative targets.

Thomas said: “I don’t think you can quite rule Everton out yet, because I still think there’s a little bit of mileage left in this one. But like I hope we made clear at the beginning of the week and I think there is an acceptance at Everton that Everton have to play catch up here. Ipswich have been leading it for a little while, Aston Villa are in a position where no matter how late they choose to come in they have a seat at the table. Everton are behind that, so I think Everton are probably moving on to have a look at other wingers now as well.”

Everton are also interested in Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah and could soon make a move to sign him, reports Caught Offside. The outlet noted on its website (11 July) that Everton, along with Premier League rivals West Ham United, Crystal Palace, and Brentford, are keen on the England international.