Everton are reportedly closing in on a deal to bring Tyrique George to Merseyside on a permanent deal this summer.
The Chelsea academy product spent the second half of last season on loan at the Toffees, with a clause for a permanent move in place with the Stamford Bridge club.
The option for a permanent deal would have seen Everton pay a £25m fee to their Premier League rivals, but they are now seeking a renegotiated deal that would require less up-front money and include additional performance-based bonuses that appear agreeable to George's current employers.
David Moyes is aiming to bolster his squad after Everton's first season at their new Hill Dickinson home tailed off and they finished 13th in the Premier League after failing to win any of their last seven games with just one victory after 3rd March.
Toffees in the mood to rethink
George, 20, made the move to the north-west on loan at the start of February. He had featured just four times for Chelsea to that point in season 2025-26 but went on to make 11 Premier League appearances for Moyes' side.
He was largely deployed as a left winger for Everton, filling in at times after Jack Grealish's season was curtailed by injury.
Everton did not exercise their option to sign, but The Athletic have suggested they are in talks with Chelsea about a restructured deal involving less money up front, with added bonuses based on performance that would bring the deal close to the £25m Chelsea initially wanted over time.
Moyes making plans for new season
Everton are hoping they can agree a deal to keep Grealish at the club. The former England man scored twice and provided six assists in 22 games for the Toffees before a foot injury ended his season prematurely.
The Grealish loan deal had included an option to buy worth £50m, but the Toffees are confident that a less expensive resolution can be agreed – with a figure close to £30m being mooted.
Fellow wide men Iliman Ndiaye and Dwight McNeil are uncertain of their futures at Everton.
Ndiaye is at the World Cup with Senegal and has been linked to both Manchester United and Manchester City in recent times.
McNeil was close to leaving in January, but a move to Crystal Palace collapsed at the last minute after the Eagles cooled on the proposed £20m deal.
Elsewhere, a deal to bring highly rated Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney to Merseyside is reportedly progressing well.
Chelsea ready to sell
New Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso may be happy to part with George this summer. The England youth international had made 37 first-team appearances but has started only one Premier League game for the Blues.
George is likely to be behind Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens, and new arrival Geovany Quenda in the pecking order as the Spaniard sets up for his first season in West London.
Getting a fee that could rise to that £25m figure for a player that has no associated cost, having come up through the academy, will be seen as good business at Stamford Bridge, where Alonso is likely to invest significantly.
George, despite showing promise, is unlikely to be allowed time to develop in Chelsea's first team and, so, for his own development, a permanent shift away from his boyhood club seems inevitable.
Moyes highlighted George's speed and direct running as positives during his loan stint at Everton and while he's got plenty of room for improvement, the Toffees will feel there is significant potential to be worked with based on the Camden-born attacker having featured in just 23 top-flight games so far.
