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Everton are believed to be close to a deadline day deal for Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo, after offering Sevilla £9m for the 27-year-old. Goal.com reports the amount should be sufficient to allow the Spanish club's president, Jose del Nido, to sanction a move.

Alvaro Negredo
Reuters

The forward, who graduated from Real Madrid's youth academy, has also been linked to Tottenham. An earlier IBTimes UK report reported on rumours that del Nido had flown to London to open talks with Spurs over a £15m move to White Hart Lane.

The Goodison Park club were close to announcing a £8.6m deal for Dutch international Leroy Fer before the 23-year-old was found to have medical complications in his knees. The deal for the FC Twente player has since broken down and the club are hoping to steal Negredo from Spurs, while the north London club concentrate on Brazilian Leandro Damiao.

Spurs and the Toffees are involved in a four-way race with Arsenal and Liverpool for the final qualifying position for next season's Champions League and the addition of a proven goal-scorer like Negredo would boost either club's campaign; particularly since both clubs are looking a little lightweight up front.

Andre Villas-Boas has only Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe as first team strikers, while David Moyes has relied almost exclusively on midfielders and defenders to score goals.

And of these options, Adebayor is presently unavailable because he is with the Togo national team at the 2013 African Cup of Nations and Defoe has yet to hit top form after recovering from a pelvic injury. The club have also been linked to Olympique Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis; the Telegraph reports the Ligue 1 club could be persuaded to release the French international for £7m.

For Everton, Nigerian Victor Anichebe, Belgian Kevin Mirallas and Croatian Nikica Jelavic have contributed only 11 Premier League goals so far, with in-demand midfielder Marouane Fellaini and left-back Leighton Baines scoring 13 between them.

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