Everton are set to battle it out with Championship side Birmingham City to sign Ligue 2 starlet Junior Sambia in the summer, according to the Sun.
The newspaper claims that Birmingham director of football Jeff Vetere is determined to bring the 20-year-old French defensive midfielder to the club in the transfer window.
The Sun reports that Ronald Koeman’s Everton side are also interested in signing the Chamois Niortais youngster but the hierarchy at Birmingham are confident that they are leading the race to land the Frenchman as they can promise him first-team football next season.
It appears that the Merseyside club are determined to add a midfield enforcer to their squad this summer as this story follows up from the report in the Sun claiming that the Toffees are confident of landing West Ham man Pedro Obiang.
Everton will be playing in the Europa League for the first time in three years next season and they are going to need extra bodies in the squad in order to compete on all fronts.
Sambia has impressed with his performances this season in the second tier of French football, making a total of 41 appearances in all competitions and scoring four goals.
The youngster’s performances helped Chamois Niortais secure a finish in the top half of the Ligue 2 table – the club’s highest position in the division for the last two seasons.
Sambia still has two years left on his current contract with the Ligue 2 side.