Everton Women boss Willie Kirk admits he would love to keep on-loan Manchester City midfielder Jill Scott at the club.
But discussions between the two clubs are ongoing - and as yet it's unclear as to whether it might be a possibility.
"I think that’s ongoing between the two clubs, in terms of what might happen, what might not happen," he told a media conference on Friday morning.
"Certainly from a head coach’s point of view, I’d love to keep her here. She’s added so much to what we do on the training pitch and in matches. I think Jill’s enjoyed it. Hopefully she makes the Olympics squad. I’m pretty sure she will.
"She’s got so much experience, still so effective on the pitch. I think it would be a shock to everyone if she never made the Olympics squad. Obviously that was part of her reason to go out on loan and we have benefited from her experience and high standards.
"I’d love to keep Jill here but there’s a long way to go before we get to that stage."
The 34-year-old rejoined Blues in January after eight years at City.
But she is not the only potential addition to Kirk's squad for the 2021/22 campaign.
"We work continuously on our recruitment in terms of identifying players and identifying areas of the squad that we want to improve," he said.
"We’ll have a stronger squad next year than we did this year, just like we’ve had a stronger squad this year than we did last year. It’s just part of our constant evolution, I think, as a team."
Everton finish their Barclays FA Women's Super League campaign on Sunday afternoon with a trip to Manchester United, who look set to finish just outside the Champions League qualification spots.
"They’re a good team and it’s a game we’re looking forward to," said Kirk. "I think it’s a cracking game to finish off our league campaign."
