Everton were reportedly in advanced talks to sign England U21 defender Fikayo Tomori from Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Everton’s deal to sign Fikayo Tomori on loan has collapsed with Chelsea set to sell David Luiz to Arsenal instead, according to the Standard.
With just a few hours remaining until the transfer window slams shut, this is the news the Toffees feared.
Despite spending brilliantly on Moise Kean, Andre Gomes, Fabian Delph and Jean-Philippe Gbamin, there is a glaring hole in Marco Silva’s squad at centre-back.
Kurt Zouma returned to Chelsea after an excellent loan spell at Goodison Park but Everton had hoped to raid The Blues again for England U21 star Tomori.
According to the Standard, talks were at an ‘advanced stage’ but they have now been brought to an end with Chelsea set to bid farewell to another defender, 32-year-old Brazilian David Luiz.
Luiz is expected to complete a shock £8 million move to Arsenal before today’s 5:00pm deadline.
So where do Everton go from here? Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Marco Silva admitted that he was desperate to sign a new defender after the departures of Zouma and Phil Jagielka while pointing out that that youngster Lewis Gibson simply isn’t ready for Premier League level.
There is not much time left and, with the Tomori deal dead, they are back to square one.
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