Another fringe player on his way out

Arouna Koné could leave Everton during the January transfer window, with Premier League strugglers Swansea City reportedly interested in the player. Crystal Palace, who play the Toffees this weekend, are also fighting relegation and have been linked with the player, along with Championship sides Queens Park Rangers and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The 33-year-old hasn’t had much opportunity to play under Ronald Koeman this season, totaling 76 minutes in six total appearances. Kone is an Ivory Coast international but was not selected for the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations being held in Gabon.

Brought in by Roberto Martinez from Wigan Athletic, Kone has been with the Blues since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, scoring 6 times in 45 appearances, though 3 of those goals came in a hattrick against Sunderland. His time at Goodison Park was also marred by a serious knee injury which led him to miss the bulk of his first season.

With Everton not having much depth behind Romelu Lukaku, Koeman has been chasing a backup striker during this January transfer window. However, Kone is one of the players on the periphery that the manager has said more than once is welcome to leave.

The Swans were recently given a boost when Toffees target Gylfi Sigurdsson said he would stay at the club to help during the relegation battle. New manager Paul Clement has already signed Luciano Narsingh, Martin Olsson and Tom Carroll, and is looking at bolstering the attack department as well.