Everton are hoping to finally push through a club-record deal for Swansea City’s Gylfi Sigurdsson.
There has been renewed contact between the clubs with Swansea seeking £50 million, including add-ons, for the Iceland international who is top of Ronald Koeman’s wanted list.
Koeman, the Everton manager whose side host Sevilla in a friendly tomorrow, wants Sigurdsson in place by the start of next week.
Everton learnt yesterday that they will face Hajduk Split in their Europa League play-off, with the first leg at Goodison Park on August 17 and the second leg in Croatia a week later.
They progressed by beating MFK Ruzomberok 2-0 on aggregate, with Thursday’s 1-0 second-leg win coming courtesy of Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s late strike in Slovakia.
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The forward scored when England beat Venezuela 1-0 in the Under-20 World Cup final, in South Korea in June, and admits that an increased profile brings additional demands.
“It is down to me to kick on,” Calvert-Lewin said. “With scoring a goal of that importance, there comes a lot of . . . I won’t say there is expectation but people are more aware of who I am. I just have to keep scoring goals.”
Everton’s busy month
August 12: Stoke City (H)
August 17: Hajduk Split (H)
August 21: Man City (A)
August 24: Hajduk Split (A)
August 27: Chelsea (A)