'Everton [are] considering' a late swoop for Real Madrid's Luka Jovic, according to The Telegraph's Mike McGrath

The lowdown

Everton are set to announce the loan signing of Donny van de Beek from Manchester United, their second temporary addition of the January transfer window after Anwar El-Ghazi joined from Aston Villa.

They are only allowed two domestic loans, but they can still bolster their ranks with short-term deals for overseas players.

Jovic has played 15 times for Real Madrid this season, but former Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti hasn't afforded him any starting opportunities in La Liga.

The latest

McGrath tweeted a link to a transfer report from The Telegraph, along with a summary of Everton's last-gasp interest in Jovic ahead of tonight's winter window deadline.

The journalist stated: "Everton considering Luka Jovic as a loan option from #RealMadrid to strengthen Frank Lampard's attack. Player will be allowed to leave on loan. #EFC can make foreign loans but no more domestic after arrivals of El Ghazi and Van de Beek".

The verdict

Jovic's best season to date was 2018/19, when he bagged 17 league goals for Eintracht Frankfurt and netted 10 more in the Europa League to help the German outfit reach the semi-finals. Unsurprisingly, he featured in both the Bundesliga and Europa League Team of the Season that year.

Real Madrid paid £52.4m to sign him off the back of that stellar campaign, but it simply hasn't worked out for him at the Bernabeu. He has managed a measly three goals in his 47 outings for Los Blancos.

Perhaps the key to extracting the best out of him will be to deploy him in a front two, as manager Adi Hutter did in that glorious 2018/19 campaign. Also, it's worth noting that Jovic is a player who has won glowing praise from Lionel Messi, who described him as 'magical'.

The clock is ticking towards the 11pm deadline, but it's worth Everton's while trying to see if they can rescue the Serbian from his Bernabeu nightmare.

In other news, an early Frank Lampard request has been granted