Everton currently lead the race to sign a new midfielder ahead of the summer transfer window, according to David Ornstein.
After a disappointing end to the 2025/2026 season, the Toffees are likely to be active in the upcoming transfer window.
Last summer, Everton were incredibly busy looking to build a squad capable of pushing for Europe.
Unfortunately for Everton, they fell at the final hurdle, showing that they need further reinforcements this summer in order to compete at the highest level.
The Toffees don’t have European football to attract potential new targets heading into the summer, so they’ll have to be clever in how they try to tempt players with a move.
West Ham United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka is wanted by Tottenham Hotspur and Everton this summer
Everton Lead Race for Midfielder
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Everton are currently leading the race to sign Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney ahead of the summer transfer window.
Hackney favours a move to Everton, with club-to-club talks set to follow.
Other clubs such as Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Manchester United are also keen on Hackney, but it now appears that his preference would be to move to Everton this summer.
Everton Need a Big Window
Everton spent a significant sum of money last summer, but they failed in their push to finish in the European places.
Manager David Moyes regularly spoke about how the Toffees were aiming to qualify for Europe, but they clearly didn’t have a squad good enough to do so.
Further reinforcements will be needed. While Moyes needs to be more adaptable in his team selections, Everton spent large sums of money on the likes of Tyler Dibling, but Moyes failed to give him a fair opportunity throughout the season.
It’s an incredibly important summer transfer window approaching if Everton truly want to qualify for Europe next season.
Iraola, described as ‘elite’ by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp, is leaving the Cherries this summer after guiding them into the European places.
Fabrizio Romano has also confirmed that Liverpool have actually reached an agreement in principle to appoint Iraola, with talks advancing over the last 48 hours.
Manchester United are eyeing a summer transfer window move to sign a player Christopher Vivell knows from his time at Chelsea.
The Red Devils have been heavily linked with bringing in a host of new midfielders ahead of the summer, but they are likely to strengthen in multiple positions.
United qualified for the Champions League last season after a resurgence under Michael Carrick, who joined the club in January. They’ll need a deeper, stronger squad to compete in Europe.
Although Carrick did a phenomenal job in turning things around, they didn’t have the distraction of European football and the hectic fixture schedule that comes with that.
As a result, they will need reinforcements to deal with playing twice a week and competing on all fronts.
Hall is a player who crossed paths with director of recruitment Vivell during their time at Chelsea, so he’s someone the United chief knows very well.
Hall, described as elite, could be on the move in the summer transfer window, and any deal is likely to be north of £50 million.
Newcastle aren’t hoping to sell the 21-year-old this summer, but they are expected to reshape their squad after a disappointing season.
The Magpies could be forced to cash in on some players after they fail to qualify for European football.
Man Utd Need Left-Back Reinforcements
Although Luke Shaw appears to have got over his injury issues, starting every single Premier League game during the 2025-2026 season, United do need another option at left back.
Shaw is set to turn 31 next month, so United do need to sign a long-term replacement for the English defender.
One of United’s backup left backs, Tyrell Malacia, has left the club following the expiration of his contract.
Hall is already an established Premier League defender, and at the age of 21, he has yet to reach his full potential.
There’s no doubt the Newcastle left-back would be a smart signing for the Red Devils if they can secure his signature this summer.
Liverpool have been given a huge boost in their attempts to sign an Diomande from RB Leipzig this summer, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
The 19-year-old had 23 goal involvements – scoring 13 and assisting 10 – as the German side finished third in the Bundesliga, qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
That qualification for the Champions League could make things more difficult for interested parties to negotiate a deal, given Diomande would have elite level football to look forward to at Leipzig, but Liverpool are in talks with the German side to complete a deal.
Liverpool have competition to sign the teen star
However, they are not the only ones.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano said: “Many of you asking what’s happening with Yan Diomande, is he going to Liverpool or not? Look, Liverpool are in negotiations with Yan Diomande’s camp, so Liverpool are on it for sure.
“Paris Saint-Germain are on it as well, they are speaking with the player’s camp, they have genuine interest in Yan Diomande, so the battle is on.”
Diomande will be heading out to the United States of America, Canada and Mexico for the 2026 World Cup with the Ivory Coast this week, ahead of the tournament starting next week, and that throws a spanner in the works of any plans to thrash out a deal.
Liverpool would need to get a deal done quickly, before the tournament starts, or face having to wait until the African nation are knocked out to pick up negotiations again.
Romano revealed Diomande’s preference with transfer talks.
Can Liverpool get a deal done quickly for Diomande?
He added: “I can tell you that the preference from the player and the player’s camp would be to do the deal fast, before the start of the World Cup for the Ivory Coast so Yan Diomande can go to the World Cup without thinking about Liverpool or PSG. This is the feeling, they will try to accelerate the Diomande deal before the World Cup.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be possible because this will depend on Leipzig and it’s never easy to negotiate with Leipzig, we saw that with many players, they are tough, but Liverpool and PSG are both working on this one, both are involved.”
Leipzig have put a huge €120million (£103million) price tag on the young forward’s shoulders, which is another obstacle to overcome in a short space of time.
