Everton are closing in on the signing of Arsenal’s Christian Norgaard as David Moyes is on course to secure a replacement for the departed Idrissa Gueye.
The Merseyside club are in talks with the Premier League champions about a transfer of around £7m for the midfielder.
The clubs are likely to agree a deal that would see Norgaard become Everton’s fourth summer signing, after fellow midfielders Merlin Rohl and Hayden Hackney, plus winger Tyrique George.
Norgaard is set to leave the Emirates Stadium after a solitary season, following his £15m move from Brentford. While he made 20 appearances for Arsenal, he started a lone Premier League game – the last of the season, the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace, after the Gunners had become champions – and had played a mere 57 minutes in the top flight before then.
But he had been a regular for Brentford before then, starting 120 Premier League games in four seasons and becoming captain of the London club.
Defensive midfielder Gueye left Everton last week after his contract had ended. Everton had been in talks with the 36-year-old about a new deal before the decision was made that he would bring his second spell on Merseyside to a close.
Selling Norgaard would add to the funds Arsenal have brought in this summer for Leandro Trossard, Jakub Kiwior and Karl Hein and bolster manager Mikel Arteta’s budget as he looks for new signings, with Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes and Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior among his targets.
