Everton Step Up Pursuit of Man City's Rico Lewis

Rico Lewis is becoming a concrete option for Everton as they step up their search for a new right-back, according to TeamTalk sources. The Toffees have made the position one of their top priorities this summer following Seamus Coleman's departure, and while names such as Genoa's Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Strasbourg's Guela Doue, Tottenham's Djed Spence, Arsenal's Ben White, West Ham's Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Atalanta's Raoul Bellanova have all been linked, Lewis is reported to be a player David Moyes personally likes. Manchester City, meanwhile, are said to be willing to let the 21-year-old leave for the right fee.

Why Moyes wants him

The appeal is versatility. Lewis can play right-back, left-back or in defensive midfield, three positions Everton are actively looking to strengthen, and TeamTalk reports Moyes rates that flexibility highly. It would also let Jake O'Brien, who has covered right-back as makeshift cover for most of the campaign, move into his more natural centre-back role. Nathan Patterson, the Scotland international who has struggled to establish himself since arriving from Rangers in 2022, could be allowed to leave if Lewis comes in, and Lewis would also give Vitaliy Mykolenko competition at left-back. There is defensive midfield value too, with Idrissa Gana Gueye's contract having expired, though sources say Everton have not fully ruled out a new deal for the 36-year-old.

Maresca's arrival changes the calculation

Enzo Maresca, who succeeded Pep Guardiola at the Etihad at the end of June, is reported to be prepared to let Lewis leave in search of regular first-team football rather than stand in his way. Lewis made just four Premier League starts last season as Guardiola increasingly favoured Matheus Nunes at right-back, and he was also left out of Thomas Tuchel's most recent England squad. A new manager owes a fringe player nothing. Lewis is on a long-term contract running until 2030, which puts City in a strong negotiating position regardless of who is picking the team, and reports on his valuation vary: TeamTalk suggests around £30million could be enough, while other outlets have described him as closer to a £35million-rated asset, with Nottingham Forest said to have had an offer in the region of £26million turned down earlier in the window.

Everton are not the only club circling

Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Bournemouth are all credited with interest in Lewis too, with no single suitor yet out in front. That crowd matters for Everton's planning, because this cannot be the kind of deal a club sorts out with a phone call and a loan fee. Everton reportedly want to re-sign Jack Grealish on a second loan spell later in the transfer window, and Premier League rules prevent a club from loaning two players from the same parent club in the same season. That rules out any temporary Lewis arrangement even if City were willing to consider one. It is a permanent deal or nothing, competing against three other Premier League clubs chasing the same signature.

Verdict: a sensible target, but not an uncontested one

This is exactly the kind of business Everton should be doing: a 21-year-old England international who can play three positions, has fallen down the pecking order at a club with no shortage of alternatives, and comes from a manager with no sentimental attachment to him. It is the transfer-window equivalent of spotting the last good sofa in the shop before three other buyers reach for their wallets. The obstacle is not Lewis's willingness or Everton's need, it is the queue. Forest, Fulham and Bournemouth all want the same player, City's valuation has not settled, and Moyes still has half a dozen other right-back names on his list if this one does not move quickly. Everton's interest is real. So is everyone else's.

Sources: TeamTalk.