Everton and Mainz still haggling over Gbamin

While it looks like Everton have earmarked Jean-Philippe Gbamin to replace Idrissa Gueye in the middle, the Blues still do not have an agreement with Mainz 05 over a transfer fee, according to German outlet Bild.

Despite earlier reports that the Toffees were very close to signing the 23-year-old on a five-year deal, it appears the two clubs are still not in full agreement over the terms of the fee. Everton had initially offered €25 million for the player with Mainz asking for €35m.

The two sides then looked to have settled at €30m, but now Bild are reporting that the Bundesliga side are scrabbling for more in guaranteed money versus performance-related bonuses.

The paper confirmed that negotiations had indeed taken place over the weekend when Everton were in town for the Opel Cup, but nothing had been finalized. Gbamin, who has four years left on his current deal at Mainz, has made 95 appearances for the German side since joining from Lens in July 2016, scoring three times. He did not feature in Mainz’s 3-1 friendly win over Everton on Saturday, having represented his country in the African Cup of Nations earlier this month.