Lyon to take over Arnaut Danjuma's loan from Everton?

Lyon have reportedly made progress in negotiations to take over the loan of Arnaut Danjuma from Everton.

The Dutch winger has been on the fringes of the Everton squad since joining on loan from Villarreal in the summer, and his game time has almost been reduced to zero since Dwight McNeil and Jack Harrison recovered from early-season injuries.

Danjuma started his first Premier League game in almost four months when the Toffees drew 0-0 with Aston Villa last weekend, with McNeil out injured.

However, in a rather damning statement towards Danjuma, despite minimal training after suffering ankle injury, McNeil was rushed back and started in their FA Cup third-round replay win against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

Manager Sean Dyche also opted to put youngster Lewis Dobbin on ahead of Danjuma, as the 26-year-old remained an unused substitute at Goodison Park.

Rumours had already circulated that Danjuma may depart this month, but Foot Mercato now claim that Lyon have made a breakthrough in talks to take over his loan deal.

It states that Lyon are interested in an option-to-buy deal as long as the fee is no more than €15m, otherwise, the deal will just be a straight six-month loan.

The one sticking point was initially believed to be that Everton were searching for a replacement in their squad should Danjuma leave, and the report claims that the Premier League side have identified someone to bring in.

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However, a report from the Liverpool Echo contradicts this, as they claim that the player is still in Dyche's plans, despite his limited game time.

Everton's squad remains extremely thin, illustrated by the lack of changes that Dyche makes on a game-by-game basis, and during the match in the form of substitutions.

Danjuma has often been an unused sub though, and wants a move that will guarantee him more minutes, as the initial report states his Dutch compatriot Memphis Depay has recommended him to move to Lyon.

Lyon themselves are set to have an active month in the transfer window given their perilous position in Ligue 1 which sees them still in the relegation zone despite a recent resurgence.

The French club have already acquired Gift Orban from Gent to bolster their attacking options, as Lyon have only scored 17 league goals this season, eight of which have come via Alexandre Lacazette.

After a goal-laden season with Bournemouth in the Championship during 2020-21, Danjuma moved to Villarreal and continued that fine form, scoring 16 goals across all competitions as they reached the Champions League semi-finals.

In tandem with a lack of game time though, Danjuma has found goals harder to come by, as he has just two Everton goals in half-a-season, with those strikes coming against Doncaster Rovers and Sheffield United.