Manchester United defender Jonny Evans is set to move to Everton for a fee believed to be £8m, according to the Telegraph.
United value the defender at around £10m but may be convinced to accept the lower fee for a player deemed surplus to requirements.
The 27-year-old, currently in Seattle with the United squad on the first leg of their pre-season tour of the United States, is yet to be offered a new deal at Old Trafford to replace the final twelve months of his current contract.
And the Northern Irishman’s uncertain future at United has prompted Everton manager Roberto Martinez to step up his efforts to sign the experienced centre-half.Senior figures at Old Trafford have refused to comment on Everton’s interest in Evans, but it is understood that the two clubs are ready to compromise on a fee for a player who has racked up 198 senior appearances for United since making his debut as a nineteen-year-old in the League Cup defeat against Coventry City in September 2007.
United value Evans, a three-time Premier League title winner, at £10m, with Everton preparing to pay £6m.
A deal worth an eventual £8m is expected to be completed in the coming days, however, with Martinez determined to secure a proven replacement for Frenchman Sylvain Distin, who left Goodison Park at the end of last season to complete a free transfer to Premier League newcomers Bournemouth.
United manager Louis van Gaal is prepared to keep Evans in his squad, but has made it clear to the defender that he has dropped behind Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo in the pecking order at Old Trafford.
And with United also in the market for a world-class centre-half, with Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos Van Gaal’s number one target, Evans is facing up to the prospect of diminished opportunities if he stays at the club.
If Evans leaves he will vacate the number 6 shirt – given that Louis van Gaal has just signed two ‘number sixes’ he may already have an heir in mind, however, a prospective new central defender would fit the number quite well too.
