Orel Mangala transfer latest as Everton share major update before deadline day

Everton are exploring a move for central midfielder Orel Mangala while Neal Maupay’s future at the club looks increasingly uncertain. The final days of the transfer window look set to hold some intrigue for the Blues after a busy summer, with the potential for incomings and outgoings.

Maupay has been the subject of interest from French club Marseille, the Ligue 1 outfit having already had a loan bid rejected for the forward. But Maupay, who spent last season on loan at Brentford, is yet to get on the pitch this season and was left out of the Carabao Cup win over Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday night.

Asked about the prospect of the 28-year-old leaving in the coming days, Dyche said following the 3-0 victory: "Possibly, it was just a risk and reward scenario [leaving him out against Doncaster], there is possibly something that is going to happen but we are waiting on that."

Dyche was cautious over the prospect of his squad being strengthened, as he has been over recent weeks with financial constraints continuing to dominate the club’s approach to business. Asked specifically about Mangala, he said: "I can say we have been linked heavily with about 100 players. As far as I know, at this stage, it is unlikely that anything changes, but we will see.”

If the details can be made to work for Everton then Mangala is understood to be on the club’s radar as transfer chiefs target reinforcements to a midfield that has lost Andre Gomes, Amadou Onana and Lewis Warrington this summer.

The arrival - and positive start - of 21-year-old Tim Iroegbunam has provided Dyche with an unexpected boost but central midfield remains an area in which key figures at Finch Farm believe the senior squad is light.

Any deal for Mangala, should one become possible, would help to solve that problem. The 26-year-old would also provide Premier League experience - an attribute identified by Dyche as being helpful for any late transfer window incomings. Everton have signed six players this summer but, aside from Jack Harrison and veteran goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, those arrivals had little, if any, Premier League experience. The Blues boss, as a result, has been keen to stress that patience will be required as they adapt to the demands of the league.

Mangala, a Belgium international, moved to Lyon after a stint in the top flight with Nottingham Forest. As well as Iroegbunam, he would join James Garner, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Idrissa Gueye as senior central midfield options, plus youngster Harrison Armstrong, who made his senior debut in stoppage time at Tottenham Hotspur. Garner, Doucoure and Gueye have each missed parts of the summer schedule with minor injuries, another reason why central midfield has been identified as an area of potential recruitment.