Everton 'table bid' to re-sign Blackburn's Callum Wright with Lyon poised to win Martin Terrier race
KEY POINTS
- Toffees have reportedly made an offer in excess of £1m to re-sign the initially release midfielder.
- However, Tottenham, Leicester and Stoke are also said to hold an interest in Wright.
- Speculation from France suggests that Lyon are poised to triumph in battle for Lille's Strasbourg loanee Terrier.
Everton have submitted a formal offer to re-sign Callum Wright from Blackburn Rovers, yet reports state that they could face competition for the versatile teenage midfielder from a trio of Premier League rivals including Tottenham Hotspur.
Wright, capable of playing across midfield, as an attacker or at full-back, was released by Everton as a youngster before heading to Ewood Park in 2016.
Initially a regular in the Under-18 Premier League, the 17-year-old, yet to make a senior appearance for third-tier promotion challengers Blackburn under Tony Mowbray, has graduated to Under-23 level this term and scored three times in nine appearances while also displaying his eye for goal in the Premier League Cup.
The Toffees were known to be targeting a swoop for their former academy talent heading into the January transfer window and the Liverpool Echo report that they have now made an official bid worth in excess of £1m ($1.3m).
However, the same publication states that Tottenham are also interested - along with Leicester City and Stoke City - in a player top of the list of targets to replace Anton Donkor in David Unsworth's Under-23 set-up after the climax of the Wolfsburg forward's second loan spell on Merseyside.
Everton have been very active in the transfer market so far this month, with Sam Allardyce keen to strengthen his senior attacking options to fill the gaping void left by Romelu Lukaku's summer move to Manchester United.
Turkish striker Cenk Tosun has already been signed from Besiktas for a £27m fee and Theo Walcott has arrived on a three-and-a-half year deal from Arsenal.
Terrier to Lyon?
New defensive additions are also required, particularly at left-back, though the Toffees, who sold contract rebel Ross Barkley to Chelsea for £15m and also offloaded Gethin Jones and Liam Walsh to Fleetwood Town and Bristol City respectively in addition to sanctioning loan exits for Kevin Mirallas and Harry Charsley, look likely to miss out on the signing of Martin Terrier.
The Guardian suggested that Everton and Bournemouth were both tracking Lille's French under-21 striker currently on loan at Strasbourg, but L'Equipe now say that Lyon are poised to beat Ligue 1 rivals Marseille to a deal worth almost €15m (£13.2m). The player is expected to remain on loan at the Stade de la Meinau for the rest of the 2017-18 campaign.
There could still be plenty more business to be done at Goodison Park before the end of the window, with Sevilla midfielder Steven N'Zonzi and highly-rated Swansea City centre-back Alfie Mawson still on Everton's radar as well as two more Charlton Athletic youngsters in Ezri Konsa and Alex Willis.
The likes of Davy Klaassen, Oumar Niasse, Muhamed Besic and Sandro Ramirez could all follow Barkley and Mirallas out of the exit door as Allardyce seeks to trim his squad and make room for further new arrivals, while West Ham United have been linked with Tom Davies.
