Everton make contact over deal for “electric” £10m winger instead of Nuamah

Everton have now made contact over a deal to sign an “electric” new winger target, who could be brought in instead of the heavily linked Ernest Nuamah this month, according to a report.

Toffees’ Nuamah move stalling

Lyon’s Nuamah has been one of the Toffees’ major targets during the January transfer window, and at one point it looked like they were close to getting a deal over the line, but there has been a lack of progress since then.

In fact, it now appears as though the move isn’t going to happen this month, with the Merseyside club presumably failing to strike an agreement with Lyon.

As such, David Moyes may have to move on to other targets, and Everton have now taken their first concrete steps towards signing a winger from the Liga Portugal.

According to a report from Caught Offside, the Toffees have now made contact with Sporting CP to explore the possibility of signing Marcus Edwards, who has fallen down the pecking order in recent weeks.

Edwards’ poor relationship with manager Rui Borges has led to a lack of game time, meaning Sporting are now open to selling him for €12m (£10m) this month, although 35% of that fee will be owed to former club Tottenham Hotspur.

The report also states that Nuamah is unlikely to move to Goodison Park this month, as it looks like the move has fallen through for the second time, with Everton also missing out on his signature last summer.

Edwards could be a better signing than Nuamah

The Sporting winger is likely to be available for a far lower fee than Nuamah, who was reported to have a price tag of £25m, and there are indications he could make a better impact at Goodison Park in the second half of the season.

Although the Englishman has fallen down the pecking order at Sporting this season, he has proven himself over a sustained period of time in the Liga Portugal, while the Lyon man is yet to register a single goal or assist in Ligue 1 this term.

The 26-year-old has 32 goals and 30 assists to his name in 154 Liga Portugal games, and he has been lauded as “electric” by members of the media during his time with the Portuguese club.

Nuamah is younger than Edwards, at 21-years-old, but otherwise there is no real advantage to signing the youngster this month, so it is by no means the end of the world that Everton look like they have missed out.

Moreover, with Edwards available for a fee of just £10m, it is definitely worth pursuing a move for the winger this month.