Everton are in talks with Southampton over a possible £12m deal for the Scotland striker Ché Adams.
Adams has been considered as a potential solution to Everton’s long-running striker problems since January and the club have made their move for the 27-year-old. Negotiations between the two clubs are ongoing and Russell Martin admits he may lose a player who has scored twice in two Championship games this season.
The Southampton manager said: “It will all depend on how close the bid is to our valuation as a club with how we see Ché. I’d love to keep him given the impact he’s had in two games. He’s a really good player and his energy has been great so I’d be gutted to lose him.
“At the same time, if he goes it will be for a sum of money that the club deem appropriate and a sum of money which can presumably mean we can replace him. Ideally you want to keep some players and some players are real value in terms of character, but we have to be prepared if we do lose him and I think we will be.”
The exit of players from Southampton continued on Friday when Roméo Lavia joined Chelsea in a transfer worth up to £58m. Tino Livramento and James Ward-Prowse have also left in deals of at least £30m, for Newcastle and West Ham respectively.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa have signed the Italy midfielder Nicolò Zaniolo on loan from Galatasaray. The 24-year-old becomes the club’s fourth first-team signing of the summer.
The deal reportedly includes an option to make the move permanent. Zaniolo spent five years with Roma in his home country and scored the winning goal in their Europa Conference League final success in 2022.
He left for Galatasaray in February and helped the club win the Turkish league title. Zaniolo, who has 13 Italy caps, joins Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans and Moussa Diaby as a new face in Unai Emery’s squad.
