Everton in club negotiations to sign Premier League star

On paper, Everton’s 13th place in the Premier League last season was middling mediocrity for David Moyes’ side.

However, in their first year in the dock they finished just four points short of securing their place in Europe. That certainly sounds a lot more positive, right?

So how can the Toffees get over the line and back into continental action? They have a wealth of homegrown players that can take them to the next level.

It feels like the front line should be the priority for Moyes and co, and fortunately they are making such moves.

Everton in contract talks with Premier League winger

Since the window opened, much of the early chatter coming out of the blue side of Merseyside has been dominated by the name Hayden Hackney.

Hackney is likely to take time off following Middlesbrough’s failure to achieve promotion and could join the Toffees if reports are to be believed. That’s what players want anyway.

However, it is at the top where the biggest additions are likely to be made. Chelsea’s Liam Delap continues to be linked with a move to Everton, while Harry Wilson was also considered an option before signing for Leeds United.

Wilson would have been on a quality contract, especially on a free transfer. Alas, Moyes’ men may just have to spend a little more to sign like-minded players.

In fact, according to Football Insider, Everton are currently in the process of signing West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen, a player Moyes is familiar with. After all, it was Bowen’s winning goal that lifted the Conference League trophy when the current Everton manager was still in London’s East End.

The newspaper reports that Everton have begun club-to-club negotiations with the Hammers to sign the winger, who wants to remain in the Premier League.

Other reports suggest Bowen is widely expected to leave the London Stadium following the Irons’ relegation, with a potential transfer fee of £50m.

The 29-year-old is expected to take some time to decide on his next move, so don’t expect a formal announcement anytime soon.

Why Jarrod Bowen could become Everton’s new Iliman Ndiaye

From an attacking point of view, it would be an understatement to say that 2025/26 was a truly inconsistent season for the Toffees.

Beto finished the season as the club’s top scorer with ten goals in all competitions, while Tierno Barry only scored eight goals in his debut year in English football.

In terms of consistency, there were only two guys who could match that. Iliman Ndiayi and Keenan Dewsbury-Hall.

Ndiaye in particular has quickly become Everton’s talisman, scoring six goals and providing three assists last season. However, his overall performance deserved more than that. He was constantly relayed and regularly posed threats. Without him, the team would be a significantly worse team.

That’s why signing Bowen will be a big help. The England international can also play as an immediate striker, but like Ndiaye, he is at his best on the wing.

Like Ndiaye, he is also incredibly outspoken. He knows where the goal is and is generally a great threat to the defenses he faces. It was rather strange that he was left out of England’s squad for the ongoing World Cup, having scored 11 goals and provided 12 assists last season.

Bowen has been doing that at a high level for a number of years now, particularly scoring double-digit goals in each of his last five seasons in London. He has been one of the most consistent players in English football for some time now.

Like Ndiaye, he is a player who regularly scores goals and provides regular chances. However, they are very similar when it comes to their progressive play.

Last season, Bowen completed 4.41 progressive actions per 90, of which 2.80 were progressive carries and 1.61 were progressive passes. How does he compare to Everton’s star man? Well, the Senegalese produced 4.43 progressive actions, 2.97 progressive carries and 1.45 progressive passes.

Judging by these numbers, the threat that Moyes can unleash from both flanks will be huge. It would also greatly ease the goal-scoring burden on Beto and Barry. In the case of Bowen, they would be signing a player who is even more prolific than their current striker options.