Everton in talks with Idrissa Gueye over new contract as club targets star Championship midfielder

Everton are in talks with Idrissa Gueye about a new deal to keep the veteran midfielder on Merseyside until he is almost 38. Gueye’s contract expires at the end of this month but Everton are keen to keep him for an eighth season and a fifth since returning from Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. The former Aston Villa player, who is representing Senegal at the World Cup, made 25 appearances this season, interrupted by a suspension for a strange sending-off, when he slapped teammate Michael Keane in the win at Old Trafford, and the African Cup of Nations , which his country first won and then had the title stripped from them. The defensive midfielder has scored 10 goals in 236 games for Everton and formed a partnership in the centre of the pitch with James Garner last season. Everton are nevertheless interested in strengthening their midfield with Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney, who was named the Championship ’s player of the year, a target. They are also expected to try to bring in a right-back, with captain Seamus Coleman ending his playing days with them after 17 years and 435 games. At left-back, Vitalii Mykolenko has committed his future to Everton, signing a new three-year deal.