Everton are looking to add Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff to their squad for next season, according to a report by Give Me Sport.
The 27-year-old Englishman could be available for a reasonable fee, with GMS' article mentioning a £12 million transfer number as being attached to the player. With Newcastle looking like a Champions League club for next season, it feels a bit odd that the Magpies would be looking to offload players, but Everton could be a club to take advantage.
Longstaff has featured in 32 matches this season, with just 12 starts across all competitions. He hasn't scored and has only one assist in roughly 1200 minutes on the season.
His recent usage certainly suggests that Longstaff is a surplus to requirements on this Newcastle squad, as his last start was February 8 against Birmingham City in the FA Cup and he hasn't featured as a Premier League starter since December 7 in a 4-2 away loss to Brentford.
Longstaff obviously fits a new for Everton, who are almost certainly losing at least one, if not two, key members of their midfield in Abdoulaye Doucure and Idrissa Gana Gueye, with the latter more likely to return of the two.
That said, it isn't clear where Longstaff would fit in the starting XI if he were to come to Merseyside. His per-90 numbers would suggest he's a capable tackler with just over 3 per 90, and his blocks are in the 95th percentile as well. This might give the impression of a more defensive-minded midfielder.
But there's another number that causes some confusion on that: touches in the attacking penalty area, which are in the 87th percentile at nearly 2.4 per 90.
His tackle and block numbers are close to (tackles) or exceed (blocks) Gana's output, but the current Everton midfielder is not nearly as progressive in his runs or receiving of the ball.
Which isn't to say that Longstaff couldn't be a good player for Everton, especially if that quoted fee is correct. It just means there'd need to be a plan for him and that the Toffees would need to hold on to Gana or find a more like-for-like replacement, since a midfield duo of Longstaff and someone like James Garner would be severely lacking in pace.