Southampton manager Nathan Jones refused to be drawn on how close his side are to signing Kamaldeen Sulemana from Stade Rennais.
The ECHO reported earlier this month that Sulemana is one of a number of players Everton like and that the Blues were interested in taking the Ghanaian international on loan for the rest of the season. The Goodison Park club have long been hoping to bring in two attacking players this month.
However, news broke on Friday that Southampton had failed with a second bid of €20m for the winger, who has played 19 times for the Ligue 1 side this season, including four Europa league matches, scoring one goal and providing two assists while operating across the front line. The first bid from the Saints was believed to be €17m.