Cenk Tosun to Everton? Sam Allardyce's side will attempt to complete signing of Besiktas striker

Everton are reportedly edging closer towards completing a deal to sign Besiktas striker Cenk Tosun on 3 January.

According to The Guardian, the Merseyside club officials will meet with the Turkish outfit's president Fikret Orman in London. They are confident a deal can be agreed that will see Tosun make a switch to Goodison Park in the mid-season transfer window.

Orman is on a holiday in South Africa and the Premier League club's delegation will meet the Besiktas chief in the English capital. Everton's director of football Steve Walsh travelled to Istanbul on Friday to seal the deal.

The Toffees hoped to agree a £25m ($34m) deal with Besiktas for the Turkish international. However, the attacker's current employer's decision to raise the fee by £2m ($2.7m) led to speculation that the move could be in doubt.

Tosun is also believed to be keen on joining Sam Allardyce's side in the January transfer market. He is expected to sign a four-and-a-half-year deal at Everton if the latter manage to agree a fee for the striker with Besiktas.

Allardyce had already confirmed his side's interest in signing Tosun, who is also a transfer target for London clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace. The player has expressed his desire to make a switch to the Premier League, with Mauricio Pochettino dispatching his scouts to watch him in action.

The former Sunderland and Palace manager said Everton have done all they can to seal a deal for Tosun.

"Not particularly at the minute, apart from we have done all we can to try and secure the player. Whether that is enough, only time will tell within the next 24 hours," Allardyce told Sky Sports.

Everton suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United at home. The hosts failed to register a single shot on target and Allardyce stressed the importance of signing a striker in January.

"Our ratio of chances created is very limited. That is because we need to strengthen that front-line. I think we all know that," the Everton manager said.

"We are trying to do the hardest job of all by securing a player in that position. It was not achieved before the start of the season and it may not yet be achieved this January.

"Obviously we need a bigger goalscoring threat than we have got at the moment. That may help us in many ways to achieve more results.

"It certainly will if whoever we get scores goals. But I can't guarantee whoever we get in is going to score goals straight away. I just hope he does [score] when we do."