Lucas Digne’s Everton future has been plunged into fresh doubt.
Digne fell out of favour with Rafael Benitez, who omitted him from the club’s back-to-back Premier League fixtures against Arsenal and Crystal Palace.
Benitez claimed that the France international had been in contention for a swift return in Thursday’s draw at Chelsea but ruled himself out due to illness.
But Digne’s prospects at Goodison Park are now set for a fresh downturn with the Blues targeting left-back reinforcements in the January transfer window.
Vitaliy Mykolenko has emerged as Benitez’s preferred signing as a fully fledged Ukraine international who made four appearances at Euro 2020.
However Dynamo Kiev’s price tag of around £18 million is expected to be one of several barriers to overcome before clinching the 22-year-old’s signature.
Everton’s spending power remains heavily restricted by financial fair play guidelines, brought in after they paid over £500m on transfers since 2016.
Their sole cash outlay in the summer window was Demarai Gray’s £1.7m signing while Benitez’s three other arrivals had all joined on free transfers.