Everton are interested in signing Charlton defender Ezri Konsa in the New Year, according to the Liverpool Echo.
The newspaper claims that the Toffees sent chief scout Martin Glover to cast his eye over the 20-year-old at the weekend during a 2-0 defeat against Blackburn in League One.
It is understood that the Toffees are lining up a move for the highly-rated centre-back in the January transfer window.
Charlton manager Karl Robinson has tipped the England Under-20 international for greatness and believes he could go on to become one of the best defenders in the Premier League.
“He’s the best young centre-back in the country,” he said.
“There’s nobody at his age better than him. Fact. Stand up, believe in your talent and show them how good you are. That’s my message to him.
“He needs to let that talent flourish now. If he does he will be one of the best in the Premier League.”
Good move for Everton?
Everton have become renowned recently for nurturing young talents into their first team and Konsa looks like he could be a great find.
He is supposedly one of the most sought-after defenders in England and his manager at Charlton has heaped immense praise on him by predicting he could go right to the top.
Sam Allardyce does have some encouraging young stars at his disposal at Goodison Park, with Jonjoe Kenny, Tom Davies and Mason Holgate the regulars currently impressing.
The Toffees should certainly look to jump to the front of the queue for Konsa and have already had success from Charlton in the shape of signing Ademola Lookman.
This Is Futbol rating: 8/10
Likely to happen?
Everton appear to be the frontrunners for Konsa’s signature and look like having a good chance of signing him after extensively scouting him.
The Merseyside club are an attractive potion for young players given their policy and Charlton’s boss Robinson almost expects to lose his defender at some point further down the line.
This Is Futbol rating: 6/10