FRESH BLOW: For Everton and boss David Moyes, above, ahead of their Leeds United opener.placeholder image
FRESH BLOW: For Everton and boss David Moyes, above, ahead of their Leeds United opener. | Getty Images
Everton are exploring new options after seeing another failed attempt to sign Tyler Dibling.
Everton have been forced to turn their attention to other attacking targets after struggling to find a breakthrough in their Tyler Dibling pursuit.
The Toffees have been heavily connected with the Southampton winger for a while now, but the recently relegated south coast side aren’t playing ball.
After racking up just 12 points last season, the Saints finished rock bottom of the Premier League and will push to return at the end of this Championship campaign. Dibling is viewed as a key player at Southampton and they aren’t willing to let him leave easy.
Last week, The Times reported that the Saints had rejected a third official attempt from Everton to sign Dibling. The latest offer was a reported £40 million, following on from previous £27 million and £35 million bids.
Now, David Moyes’ side are assessing other options as the days are quickly ticking down towards the window deadline.
Everton ‘interested’ in Leicester City winger
According to Sky Sports, the Toffees have shifted their attention to Leicester City’s Abdul Fatawu to bolster their options on the wing. Hopes of signing Dibling are now rapidly fading, with Southampton reportedly demanding ‘upwards of £45 million’ for the 19-year-old.
“He is one of the options they are looking at in that position,” Sky’s Vinny O'Connor said of Everton’s interest in Fatawu.
“Everton have failed with multiple bids for Southampton winger Tyler Dibling this summer. They are reluctant to meet Saints' valuation of the 19-year-old.”
Fatawu’s 2024/25 season came to an early end after suffering an ACL injury in November. The 21-year-old missed the remainder of the campaign as the Foxes failed to survive relegation.
Prior to his injury though, the Ghana international has been instrumental in Leicester’s attack. Fatawu signed for the club permanently last summer after an impressive loan spell saw him contribute six goals and 13 assists in the Championship, which helped the Foxes lift the Championship trophy and earn promotion to the Premier League.
Fatawu has a record of seven goals and 15 assists in 57 appearances for Leicester so far.
David Moyes on new Everton signings
Moyes reflected on his side’s narrow defeat to Roma last weekend and highlighted the team’s lack of creativity to score goals in the lead up to the new season.
“We've been lacking it [creativity] for most of the pre-season to score enough goals and make enough goals. So, we did do last season, we scored a lot of goals in the second half of the season. Hopefully we're keeping up for the start of the season,” the boss said.
Last month, Moyes stressed how the club were ‘desperate’ to get new signings over the line, with limited time left before the transfer window closes for business.
“The truth is we're not getting a lot of the deals over the line at the moment, that's a fact. We're desperate to get things moving on because we know time's running out.”
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