Everton planning for FIVE crucial deals with double winger signing eyed, contract talks scheduled | OneFootball

Everton look set to make a positive start to the summer, with the club planning to retain Jack Grealish and David Moyes’ side having four more deals in the pipeline, TEAMtalk understands.

The Toffees have enjoyed a brilliant season so far, and after previous campaigns that have seen them fight off relegation, they are in with a chance of European qualification for the first time since 2017/18.

While no final decisions on deals will be made until the season’s end, as Everton’s budget and recruitment plans will be affected by whether they do secure European football, supporters have reasons to be hopeful for an exciting summer.

Manchester City loanee Grealish, who is currently sidelined with a long-term injury, played a leading role in Everton’s success earlier in the campaign, notching two goals and six assists in 20 Premier League appearances.

Everton are not planning to trigger their £50million option to buy Grealish, but as we reported on April 3, they are ‘confident’ of retaining the winger next term.

A second loan deal for the 30-year-old, likely including an obligation to buy, or a permanent transfer for a reduced fee, are possibilities.

Crucially, we understand Grealish has thoroughly enjoyed his time with the Toffees and is open to staying. Talks over his future will take place in the coming weeks. He isn’t the only loanee Everton could keep hold of next term, though.

Want more breaking transfer lines from original sources? Add TEAMtalk as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

Moyes ‘likes’ George but must work hard to earn Everton move

Tyrique George, 20, joined Everton on loan from Chelsea on the final day of the winter transfer window.

As reported by The Athletic, the deal includes an option to buy worth around £25million, so Everton have the opportunity to keep hold of the winger permanently.

George’s opportunities to impress have been limited so far. He’s played just 143 minutes of Premier League football for the Toffees, starting just once.

However, the England under-21s international put in his best performance yet when coming on as a sub in Everton’s 2-2 draw with Brentford on Saturday, giving them an added impetus in attack.

Following the match, David Moyes said: “I was pleased. I’ve liked Tyrique and we’ll try and get him the minutes and opportunities when we can.

“He’s got good control, he wants to score, I like that, and you saw that today. He wants to try and score and that was important for me because I think wide players nowadays, we’re asking [a lot of] them.”

Sources indicate that George still has work to do to show Everton he is deserving of a permanent contract and worth a £25million fee. The remainder of the campaign will decide his future, but the early signs are positive.

Everton discussing three new contracts

Just as important for Everton as new signings is keeping hold of their most important players, and discussions are ongoing over the futures of Idrissa Gana Gueye, Vitality Mykolenko, and Michael Keane.

The trio are all on contracts that expire at the end of this term, and we understand Everton are open to keeping all of them.

Gueye, though now 36 years old, is still a vital cog in Moyes’ squad and proved his quality by helping Senegal to win the Africa Cup of Nations – though his winner’s medal was controversially stripped from him.

Everton have the option to extend Gueye’s contract by a further year and sources indicate that it is highly likely he’ll be staying for next season.

Mykolenko and Keane’s situations are different, in that their deals do not include extension options – or at least they have not been disclosed publicly, if they do.

As reported in December, German sides Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig have been keeping tabs on Mykolenko, and would be interested in signing him on a free transfer.

Everton are open to offering Mykolenko a contract extension, though, and negotiations with the left-back are expected to ramp up in the coming weeks.

As for Keane, the 33-year-old has often played a bit part role for Everton in recent years, but has proved his worth and then some when filling in for Jarrad Branthwaite this season, when he’s been out with injury.

The 12-time capped England international is a key reason why Moyes’ side have one of the best defensive records in the division.

Keane was handed a new one-year deal last summer, on reduced wages, and sources have indicated that another short-term extension may be on the horizon. There is certainly a strong argument that he deserves it.