Everton agree £28m deal for Chelsea's Dewsbury-Hall

Everton have agreed to sign Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in a deal worth around £28m.

The fee for the 26-year-old is an initial £24m with a further £3-4m due in add-ons, and he will now finalise personal terms and undergo a medical despite late interest from Fulham.

Dewsbury-Hall had initially been reluctant to leave Stamford Bridge after a season playing in a supporting role as the side won the Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Conference League, as well as qualifying for the Champions League.

However, the Blues were open to letting the midfielder go as they look to recoup the vast majority of the £30m it took to prise him from Leicester City in 2024, where he rejoined Enzo Maresca who also left the Foxes to manage Chelsea.

Everton have also been in negotiations with Southampton for winger Tyler Dibling, but are considering walking away if the valuation for the 19-year-old doesn't drop after a second bid was rejected.

In manager David Moyes's final press conference at the Premier League Summer Series, he said: "I think there'll be deals next week. I think we're getting much closer, but I felt that four or five weeks ago as well.

"Obviously, we're getting near the tickly bits and we've got to get some things done."

Following the signing of Dutch defender Jorrel Hato from Ajax on Sunday, Chelsea are negotiating multiple sales this week.

French midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu, 21, has agreed to join Burnley, who are also in advanced talks with their Albanian forward Armando Broja, 23.

Borussia Dortmund have also re-opened negotiations for midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka as the Blues look to trim their squad.

Did Dewsbury-Hall fail at Chelsea?

Dewsbury-Hall found it difficult to adapt to life at Chelsea despite working with Maresca again.

Having starred in Leicester's Championship-winning campaign, he was hopeful of playing in the Premier League with his boyhood club. So much so that he rejected a move to Brighton to stay with the Foxes.

However, Chelsea's move in late June was too big to turn down, especially as Leicester were pushing for the £30m sale - which also involved a swap with teenage midfielder Michael Golding going in the other direction - amid pressure to meet the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability (PSR) requirements.

Dewsbury-Hall adapted well to Maresca's system at Chelsea, but not to playing a bit-part role as Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez all featured ahead of him in the midfield pecking order.

He started only twice in the Premier League but made an impact, eventually, in their Conference League run, where he scored four times and came off the bench to set up Jadon Sancho's goal in the 4-1 triumph over Real Betis in May's final.

Dewsbury-Hall was used mainly as a substitute in the Club World Cup, but scored his fifth goal for the club in a 4-1 victory over Benfica and appeared in the 3-0 final success over Paris St-Germain.

He was a decent performer when given a chance for the Stamford Bridge side, but became part of a trend of players moving quickly in and then out again.

The sale of Dewsbury-Hall is particularly important as Uefa's recent punishment for financial control violations suggests Chelsea must sell players from their last Conference League squad to ensure a "positive transfer balance" this summer.

If not, they can't register new signings like Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap for the Champions League by September.

Chelsea are also still looking to strengthen their midfield options for next season, with talks ongoing for RB Leipzig's Netherlands international Xavi Simons.