According to Wayne Veysey of Football Insider, Everton have given up trying to sign Che Adams. Southampton appear to have won the race for the 22-year-old’s signature, beating out interest from Everton, Burnley and Norwich City after matching his £15m asking price.
The Birmingham City striker contributed 27 goals in 46 Championship games last season as the Blues finished 17th in the division. Adams joined City from Sheffield United in 2016 and has gone on to score and create 51 goals in 123 appearances in all competitions.
Everton are on the hunt for a striker this summer with Cenk Tosun and Oumar Niasse expected to be sold after falling down the pecking order. Marco Silva had shown an interest in Adams, but the Merseysiders will have to turn their attentions elsewhere now.
Silva could be left with only Dominic Calvert-Lewin to choose from in attack next season unless he can bring in another centre-forward. Losing out on Adams is a blow for Everton, but Danny Welbeck could be a decent consolation prize.
The 28-year-old was released by Arsenal over the summer and looked nailed on to join the Blues in late-May. When Welbeck’s holiday is over, he should hash out his future.