Everton set sights on Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri as Ross Barkley heads to Chelsea

Everton have been credited with an interest in Nice midfielder and former Barcelona target Jean Michael Seri, who is also reportedly admired by Liverpool and Manchester City.

Toffees boss Sam Allardyce is keen to spend this month and is preparing to welcome centre-forward Cenk Tosun to his ranks, but the former England manager is intent on strengthening other areas of his squad, which is overloaded in some areas but scarcely staffed in others.

One of the overloaded positions at Goodison Park is central midfield, but Everton are set to trim the fat around their engine room in the coming days with Ross Barkley set to join Chelsea. Muhamed Besic and Davy Klaassen face uncertain futures, while midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin is reportedly being monitored by West Ham United.

Sevilla midfielder Steven N'Zonzi is in Allardyce's thoughts and initial talks about a move for the towering Frenchman have already taken place, but Sky Sports are now suggesting that Everton have revived their interest in Seri, who was close to a €41.3m (£36.8m $49.3m) move to Barcelona in the summer.

Seri's performances for Nice last season drew attention from Europe's bigger clubs, but his proposed switch to the Camp Nou fell through after Barcelona suddenly withdrew their interest. The Spanish league leaders were accused of "messing up" the Ivorian by Nice president Jean-Pierre Reiviere, who criticised his Barca counterpart Josep Bartomeu for ending Seri's dream of moving to Catalonia.

Barcelona, currently occupied by the impending transfer of Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho, were reportedly considering a fresh approach for Seri, who recently dismissed talk of a winter move - though his stance over a January deal has softened somewhat - while Manchester City and Liverpool are considering swooping for the 26-year-old in the summer.

Seri is said to have designs on a move to the Premier League, ideally one involved in the Champions League, but Everton hope they can convince the midfielder to turn down the likes of Liverpool and City and join the blue half of Merseyside, which is set to lose one of its homegrown stars.

Playmaker Barkley rejected a lucrative contract offer from his boyhood club in the summer and is now set to join Chelsea, with reports suggesting a deal could be done by the end of the week.

Antonio Conte's side are keen to wrap up a £15m move for the 24-year-old, who has not played at all this season due to a hamstring injury, but Everton have not agreed a fee with the Premier League champions as it stands.