Everton have reportedly joined Newcastle United in the race to sign Dennis Praet from Sampdoria, as Ronald Koeman aims to further bolster his squad.
The Magpies are said to have been negotiating a deal for the 23-year-old, who is valued at around £18.5m by the Italian club.
According to The Times, however, Everton are ready to hijack United's bid in what could be their final piece of transfer activity of a busy summer.
Praet only joined Sampdoria from Anderlecht last year, making 32 Serie A appearances in 2016-17 and also playing 84 minutes of last week's season opener against Benevento.
Everton have already brought in a couple of midfielders since the end of last season, most recently landing Gylfi Sigurdsson from Swansea City for a club-record fee.
