Everton are chasing a deal for Hayden Hackney.
The Toffees are set to offer Middlesbrough £20m for the England U21 international after bids worth £12m and £15m were rebuffed by those at the Riverside Stadium.
Hackney is not the only England U21 international Everton like – however – as the Daily Mail now state that The Friedkin Group are giving serious consideration to a £25m move for Tyrique George.
How would you feel about Hayden Hackney becoming Everton’s first signing? 🤩
Everton tempted to activate £25m Tyrique George option as other clubs lurk
The Daily Mail now claim that Everton are ‘interested’ in the Chelsea wonderkid despite his quiet loan spell at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the second half of last season, where he was only given one Premier League start by Moyes and played just 210 minutes of football in total.
Everton negotiated a £25m purchase option when taking George on loan, and it is said that this clause remains active.
The Daily Mail say the Toffees are ‘considering’ the deal and are interested in George, who has admirers elsewhere if Everton decide against signing the 20-year-old.
In our view, this is a strange stance from Everton.
George showed glimpses of his talent throughout those 210 minutes of action, but £25m is a lot of money, and the Toffees do not seem entirely convinced.
If they were, then surely that £25m clause would have been triggered as soon as the 2025/26 campaign ended.
From what the Daily Mail are reporting, it very much feels like Everton are only edging closer to activating this clause due to interest from other clubs, which – if that is the case – is pretty uninspiring.
It is also unclear whether George himself wants to make the move permanent.
We doubt the England U21 international is feeling that enthused by the prospect, given how little Moyes played him, and also given how his fellow attacker Tyler Dibling was treated following his £40m move from Southampton back in August.
How can Tyler Dibling actually turn things around at Everton? 🤷♂️
It's going to need some turnaround from the youngster 😫
The Everton No.20 made just four Premier League starts, so George might be sceptical about his own career stagnating if he decides to team up with Moyes on a permanent basis.
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