Everton are close to securing a deal to sign Fulham’s Dutch right-back Kenny Tete on a free transfer.
Manager David Moyes has made the position one of his summer priorities after 39-year-old Ashley Young was not offered a new contract, and with veteran captain Seamus Coleman facing an uncertain playing future.
Tete, 29, is out of contract at the end of the month and Fulham had been hoping to extend his stay.
But he has emerged as Everton’s main target and negotiations on a three-year deal are advanced for the defender, who has played 14 times for the Netherlands.
Jake O’Brien, who was signed from Lyon as a central defender, performed consistently at right-back following Moyes’ appointment in January after being ignored by predecessor Sean Dyche, while Scotland defender Nathan Patterson has also been used.
Moyes, however, was keen to secure proven Premier League pedigree and had been linked with Manchester City’s England veteran Kyle Walker, Southampton’s Kyle Walker-Peters and Vladimir Coufal, who he managed at West Ham United.
Former Ajax and Lyon man Tete, however, is the preferred option after spending almost five years at Fulham.
