Everton are closing in on their latest signing, with a deal in place to land Tyler Dibling from Southampton.
If everything goes to plan, Everton’s signing of Dibling will mark a real coup from the Blues for an in-demand young prospect.
However, David Moyes will still be looking for more late arrivals on Merseyside.
During the pre-season tour of the United States, Moyes shared his demand for nine Everton signings before the deadline in September.
It has recently been suggested that Everton are keen to sign Nathan Ake from Manchester City to bolster their defensive options.
There may have been a major spanner thrown into the works over a potential deal for the Dutch defender.
Everton handed Nathan Ake blow from Man City
There have been conflicting reports on whether the defender is of interest, with BBC Sport claiming Everton do not have Ake on their radar.
Other respected outlets claim otherwise, though.
Regardless, it seems as if any potential interest in the 30-year-old will now be rebuffed by Manchester City after their game against Tottenham Hotspur.
Ake started the game on the bench, but he was called into action after just 23 minutes following an injury to left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri.
The Algerian defender hit the deck a number of times before eventually being withdrawn.
Clearly, there was some considerable discomfort for the starting left-back, who was unable to carry on.
This could be a major problem for Everton’s reported interest in Ake, given he has now become the starting left-back.
Wayne Rooney has urged Everton to bolster their defence with more options, following the injuries to Vitaliy Mykolenko and Jarrad Branthwaite.
But it looks like a potential move for Ake could now be off the cards.
Nathan Ake set for important Man City role
Ait-Nouri attempted to play on, but the left-back was forced out of the game, which will not be a good sign for Guardiola.
Stepping in for the new City signing, Ake was put under some real pressure as he came up against an in-form Spurs and Mohammed Kudus.
- 68 minutes played
- 2 clearances
- 1 interception
- 1 tackle
- 3/4 ground duels won
- 2x was fouled
It is not yet known how bad the injury is to Ait-Nouri, but it would be difficult to imagine City would be looking to take any unnecessary risks by selling Ake.
On the flip side, Everton remain in need of a new defender, with Moyes admitting on Friday that Vitaliy Mykolenko remains injured.
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