Everton still hope to sign Andre Ayew on free transfer but face competition

could still make a new signing despite the transfer window closing, with Andre Ayew flying to to England for talks and available on a free transfer.

The Toffees had a disastrous window as they sacked and replaced him as manager with , but failed to bring in any new signings for the new boss.

They very nearly signed , but were gazumped by Tottenham, while they made late and unsuccessful moves for other players including , Watford’s Ismaila Sarr and Sheffied United’s Iliman Ndiaye.

The new Everton boss is desperate to add a forward to his squad, and still could as Ayew has been released by his previous club Al Sadd, so can be signed on a free outside the transfer window.

report that Ayew was given a ‘£2.5m golden handshake’ by the Qatari club and is expected in England on either Wednesday or Thursday to discuss his next move.

Everton are leading the chase to sign the former Swansea and West Ham forward, but Nottingham Forest are also thought to hold an interest and Ayew worked with their manager, Steve Cooper, at Swansea.

Ayew last played in the Premier League for the Swans in 2017-18, failing to score in 12 league appearances, but did then prove prolific in the Championship, scoring 15 and 16 league goals over the next two seasons.

Since then he has turned out for Al Sadd while continuing to represent Ghana, taking his tally of caps to an amazing 113 at the Qatar World Cup, where he scored in a 3-2 defeat to Portugal.

Dyche takes charge of his first game as Everton boss on Saturday lunchtime as they host Premier League leaders Arsenal and try to snap a four-game losing streak.

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