Everton on verge of agreeing ‘expensive’ Tom Cannon loan exit, seven-figure fee mentioned

Preston North End are closing in on a deal to re-sign Tom Cannon on loan after agreeing terms with Everton, according to Alan Nixon.

The newspaper journalist reported on his Patreon on 1 August that the Championship club have won the race to sign the forward after beating off competition from Birmingham City, Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers.

He said Preston will pay close to the “expensive” £1million asking price the Toffees had been seeking to allow the 20-year-old to leave on loan after he enjoyed an impressive spell at Deepdale last season.

This is great business by the Everton hierarchy to secure an excellent loan fee for a young player to temporarily go back to a club that helped his development last season.

Although it’s a relatively small fee in Premier League terms, the extra cash will go some way towards helping Sean Dyche bring another senior player in before the transfer window closes.

It’s no surprise that there has been a lot of interest in signing Cannon after he had a fruitful loan spell with the Lilywhites during the last campaign, where he scored eight goals in 20 appearances in his first real taste of first-team football.

Nixon revealed in his report that the Toffees have fielded several loan bids and even a couple of attempts to buy this summer, with the club keen for him to get some playing time in the upcoming season before returning to fight for a first-team place in the future.

There will be a lot of eyes at Goodison Park watching how he does over the course of the next year as he could prove to be a valuable player down the line.

In other Everton news, Sean Dyche has made a transfer admission amid the “tough market”.

‘I was screaming at them’ – Sean Dyche makes Everton admission as new rule implemented

Sean Dyche was speaking following Everton’s win over Stoke City on Saturday afternoon

Sean Dyche has explained why he was delighted to see six minutes added on at the end of Everton’s game against Stoke City on Saturday.

The Blues continued their preparations for the new Premier League season with a hard-fought 1-0 friendly victory at the bet365 Stadium. However, it was far from an easy outing for Dyche’s side, who were largely second-best during the first half.

However, Amadou Onana’s goal deep into stoppage time was enough to help the Blues return to winning ways after Tuesday’s goalless draw with Bolton Wanderers. The midfielder pounced from close range in the 96th minute after James Tarkowski had headed Alex Iwobi’s cross into his path.

But just minutes before the Belgium international broke the deadlock, eyebrows were raised when fourth official Will Finnie indicated that there would be six additional minutes. However, the move was in line with the major clampdown on time wasting, which will see World Cup-style stoppage time brought into English football this season.

Dyche, however, welcomed the six additional minutes, as he believes it enabled his side to get a taste of what it is going to be like this season.

“In the second half, we were much better; we were much sharper with the intensity of our play and our pressing,” he told evertontv.

“The players sometimes come into these games slightly more fatigued than they would be for a league game, for obvious reasons, because we are pushing them.

“In the second half, we stepped up, and we were stronger physically and with our play as well. I was pleased with the second half, but the first half was a reminder that you have to be on it all the time.

“I was screaming at them at the end to keep pressing, keep playing because we want that extra fitness because games are probably going to be longer this year.

“We all know that, with the board going up with more minutes on, I was pleased in a strange way to see it go up with six because that’ll become the norm.

“Therefore, it’s important the players stay on it and stay focused, which they did. We need players physically ready, but of course, it’s also about having that edge to win games, and I thought they carried it all the way through and nicked a strange goal, actually, but overall, I thought we just about edged it, particularly in the second half. I was pleased with the mentality overall.”