'Everton have a made a move to re-sign' Idrissa Gueye from Paris Saint-Germain but a deal is looking 'unlikely', according to The Athletic's Simon Johnson

The lowdown

Everton have made three signings so far in January, striking permanent deals for full-backs Vitaliy Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson and bringing in winger Anwar El-Ghazi on loan.

Manchester United's Donny van de Beek is set to become their fourth winter coup, with the Dutchman undergoing a medical on Monday morning, but it seems the appointment of Frank Lampard as manager could yet be greeted with more than one addition.

Gueye spent three years (2016-2019) at Everton before a £30m switch to the Ligue 1 outfit.

The latest

Johnson took to Twitter on Monday morning to reveal that Everton have launched a late offensive to try and bring the Senegal midfielder back to Goodison Park, although it remains up in the air whether or not their efforts will be successful.

He tweeted: "It’s true that Everton have made a move to re-sign their former midfielder Idrissa Gueye from PSG. But was told last night that it was unlikely to happen. Things can always change though on deadline day."

The verdict

Gueye appears to be an important part of PSG's squad, so you can understand if they're reluctant to let their £11.7m-rated asset leave. He has started the majority of their Ligue 1 matches so far this season, along with five of their six Champions League group games.

However, the 32-year-old has less than 18 months left on his £99,000-per-week contract, and that may factor into the Parisians' thinking.

It's worth noting that Gueye is currently preparing for an Africa Cup of Nations semi-final with Senegal, and that could make a deadline day move more difficult, despite Everton's best efforts for a last-gasp coup.

In other news, this Sky Sports journalist dropped a big Everton update live on air