Everton have reclaimed pole position in the race to sign Sandro Ramirez.
Atletico Madrid appeared to have beaten the Blues for the Malaga striker’s signature after holding discussions with his agent Gines Carvajal last month.
Both Ronald Koeman and Steve Walsh observed Sandro at close quarters as he scored during his side’s 3-0 win over Celta Vigo at La Rosaleda earlier in May.
But the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) have boosted Everton’s chances of landing the one-time Barcelona forward by upholding Atleti’s transfer embargo.
With the Madrid club unable to sign players until 2018 at the earliest, Koeman is back in contention to land Sandro for his release clause fee of £5.1 million.
Tottenham and Sevilla have also been tracking the 21-year-old, who scored 14 times for Malaga in La Liga last season.