Everton ramp up interest in Rico Lewis with David Moyes personally keen on Man City exit | OneFootball

Everton have ramped up their interest in Manchester City defender Rico Lewis, with manager David Moyes personally pushing for the 21-year-old as the Toffees seek to address multiple positional needs in a single signing, as per a new report.

Rico Lewis has been the subject of growing transfer speculation throughout the summer, with Manchester City understood to be prepared to listen to offers for the academy graduate should a suitable proposal arrive at the Etihad Stadium before the window closes.

The England Under-21 international made just 11 Premier League appearances in Pep Guardiola‘s final season in charge, starting only four league games despite his contract running until 2030 – a level of involvement that has prompted both the player and those around him to consider whether his long-term future is best served at the Etihad Stadium under incoming manager Enzo Maresca.

Lewis’s situation has attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs throughout the window, with Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Fulham all previously understood to have been monitoring his availability – but it is now Everton who appear to be moving with the most concrete intent.

The Toffees have made signing a new right-back one of their primary transfer objectives this summer, with the retirement of Seamus Coleman at the end of last season leaving a gap that David Moyes has been eager to fill, and Lewis’s profile as a player capable of operating across multiple defensive and midfield positions has made him a particularly compelling option in that search.

Report: Moyes’ personal admiration drives Everton interest as £30M fee mooted

According to TEAMtalk, Lewis is becoming a concrete option for Everton as they step up their pursuit of a new right-back, with sources confirming that Moyes is personally a fan of the City academy graduate and appreciates his ability to operate as a right-back, defensive midfielder or left-back – covering three of the positions Everton are actively looking to strengthen this summer.

Manchester City are under no significant financial pressure to sell Lewis given his long-term contract, which puts Maresca and director of football Hugo Viana in a strong negotiating position, though reports suggest a fee of around £30 million could be sufficient to prompt City to sanction his departure before the window closes.

A loan is considered an unlikely route for Everton to pursue at this stage, with the Toffees’ interest in re-signing Jack Grealish on a temporary basis towards the end of the window creating a logistical complication – Premier League rules prohibit a club from loaning two players from the same club in the same window, making it a straight choice between a permanent Lewis deal and a Grealish loan rather than a route that accommodates both.

Lewis’s versatility is the central attraction from Moyes’s perspective, with the report noting that his arrival could allow Jake O’Brien – currently deputising at right-back – to return to his natural centre-back position, while also providing cover for Vitaliy Mykolenko at left-back and addressing the void in defensive midfield left by the departure of Idrissa Gana Gueye, whose contract has expired.

What does Everton’s interest mean for Lewis’s Man City future?

The crystallisation of Everton’s interest into something concrete marks a significant development in a saga that has been building since the early stages of the summer window, with the quality and seriousness of the club expressing interest now elevated from Championship-level suitors to a Premier League side managed by one of the more experienced coaches in English football.

Maresca is expected to hold individual conversations with every member of the squad as pre-season begins in earnest, and Lewis’s discussion with the new manager over his role and his future is understood to be among the more consequential of those meetings given the level of external interest in the 21-year-old and the finite nature of the window in which that interest can be converted into a deal.

For Viana, the ability to generate a fee of around £30 million from Lewis’s sale would represent a meaningful contribution to the ongoing rebuild at the Etihad Stadium, freeing up resource for further additions while simultaneously resolving a personnel question that has become increasingly difficult to leave unanswered as pre-season approaches.

Whether Moyes ultimately succeeds in convincing Everton’s board to commit to a £30 million investment in a player whose involvement at City has been limited, or whether the financial outlay gives the Toffees pause relative to the other right-back options available to them at lower cost, will determine whether Lewis’s next club is across Stanley Park or elsewhere entirely.