Everton: Blues release Joshua King, Theo Walcott, Yannick Bolasie and Muhamed Besic

Theo Walcott (left) made 85 appearances Everton scoring 11 goals

Everton have confirmed the departures of out-of-contract quartet Theo Walcott, Joshua King, Yannick Bolasie and Muhamed Besic.

Walcott, 32, who arrived at Goodison Park in a £20m switch from Arsenal in 2018 is set to join Southampton.

Norway forward King, 29, only joined the Blues in February on a deal until the end of the season.

Bolasie, 32, last played for the club in May 2018, while Besic's last appearance was in December 2017.

Bosnian midfielder Besic was the longest-serving player of the four but was restricted to just 56 appearances after joining the club from Ferencvaros in 2014.

On-loan goalkeeper Robin Olsen also leaves Merseyside to return to his parent club Roma.

The Sweden international made seven Premier League appearances last term having being brought in to provide competition for England number one Jordan Pickford.

Defender Matthew Pennington, who has already agreed to join Shrewsbury, is one of a number of academy players with EFL loan experience also on the list of departures.