Everton have reportedly set their sights on Newcastle United duo Sean Longstaff and Allan Saint-Maximin ahead of the January transfer window.
Rafael Benitez, who arrived at Goodison Park in the summer, recently announced that he plans to enter the transfer market in the coming months following the departure of top earner James Rodriguez, and he is said to be considering a raid on his former club.
According to The Independent, the Spaniard has placed midfielder Longstaff and winger Saint-Maximin as two of his top priorities for the winter window.
Longstaff is said to be more likely to arrive in Merseyside than the French winger, who has featured in every minute of Premier League action so far this season, netting two goals and providing three assists in seven outings.
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce was keen to play down rumours of a Saint-Maximin departure when recently asked by reporters, saying: "I haven't even had that conversation – and I don't want to have that conversation, as you can imagine. Look, we don't want to lose our best players at all. For now, I'm not going to have that conversation with anybody because we want to keep our best players."
Benitez left St. James' Park at the end of the 2018-19 season after seeing them win promotion and consolidate their top-flight status, and he has led the Toffees to collect 14 points from their opening seven Premier League games since arriving back on English shores.
Sam Varley
