Everton manager David Moyes does not like to talk about players from other teams when it comes to transfer speculation.
But that does not stop the questions from piling up his way as the Scot was questioned about potential interest in Scott McTominay.
Earlier this week, it had been suggested that Everton have shown an interest in McTominay, who has been in sensational form for both club and country.
The January transfer window is going to be an intriguing one for Everton, with gaps in the squad still needing to be filled after the summer.
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Everton News columnist Alan Myers believes Everton will try to sign a midfielder, as well as a right-back and striker in January.
On the back of the speculation, Moyes has responded to speculation surrounding the Napoli star man following his excellent recent Scotland showing.
Scotland v Denmark - FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier
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What David Moyes said about Everton signing Scott McTominay
The Friedkins have brought stability back to Everton almost a full year on from their takeover last December.
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Finally, the Blues are able to look forward, with some major signings already made under their tenure.
However, speaking to the media, Moyes was keen to establish that McTominay is a player who will likely be out of Everton’s budget in January.
“Well, I think the reality is I will never talk about other players, but if you’re talking about £60m those sort of numbers, I don’t know if we’re quite at that level yet,” Moyes responded to the speculation.
“Hopefully we’re working towards that and building ourselves back up. We’ve said many times about getting back on solid ground; we’ve done that under the new owners, with the new stadium.”
“I don’t think we’ll be shooting for the stars right away. That’s not to say it won’t happen, but my gut feeling would be to say that’s not the market we’ll be in.”
Everton will lose Iliman Ndiaye to the Africa Cup of Nations, which will take a large contribution of their goals away from Moyes.
It would certainly be a huge shock if Everton were able to pull off a transfer like this in January, but it is clearly something Moyes would love to see in the future.
Everton fans can forget the Scott McTominay links
Unfortunately, McTominay is not a player who will be making the move to Merseyside in January.
The Scotland international has become a real superstar since leaving Manchester United for Napoli.
McTominay scored a stunning overhead kick during the international break to help send Scotland through to next year’s World Cup.
The Friedkin Group wanted a statement signing over the summer, and they got that with Jack Grealish.
This is a player who would improve just about every side in Europe, but Everton may not quite be there just yet in their hopes of adding top quality players.