Everton have been given encouragement that Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha could be tempted by a move to Goodison Park.
As first revealed by Standard Sport on Friday, the Toffees are interested in signing the Ivorian and have joined Arsenal in the race for his signature.
Everton are keen to add a marquee name to their squad this summer and Zaha is the man they have identified as a target.
So far Arsenal have been the club leading the chase for the forward and they have already failed with one bid of around £40million.
The Gunners have reportedly floated the idea of offering players as part of any deal, but that has not interested Palace and their asking price for Zaha is believed to be £80m.
If the 26-year-old were to leave Selhurst Park this summer, Arsenal are considered as his preferred destination following comments made by his brother, Judicael, earlier this month.
“Wilfried will always hold Crystal Palace and their fans in the highest regard and all the support they have given means the world to him," he told Sky Sports News.
"It is my brother’s dream, though, to play for Arsenal.
“Given all that Wilfried has given to Crystal Palace to help them remain a Premier League club, I hope Palace will be able to see their way to agreeing a deal with Arsenal that allows Wilfried to realise his dream of playing European football for the club he has supported since childhood.”
However, Everton have now been given encouragement that Zaha could be tempted into making the switch to Goodison Park.
While the Toffees cannot currently offer the forward European football, they are aiming to build a squad to do so and want the Ivory Coast international to be central to those plans.
Unlike Arsenal, Everton appear to have the financial clout to complete a deal for Zaha.
Their major shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, has shown in the past how he is ready to spend big in the transfer market and the club are also due to bank nearly £50m from the sales of Ademola Lookman and Idrissa Gueye.
Crystal Palace’s position with Zaha remains the same and the club do not want to sell.
The Eagles are in a strong position given Zaha has four years to run on his £130,000-a-week contract, while they are under no financial pressure to offload this summer after selling Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United for over £50m.
