Sean Dyche: Interested clubs are 'circling' a few Everton players

Everton boss Sean Dyche admits it may be difficult to retain his squad before the transfer window closes, but he hopes to make the necessary signing if someone leaves.

Fulham are interested in midfielder Alex Iwobi, who is in the last year of his contract, 20-year-old striker Tom Cannon is being targeted by a number of Championship clubs and Demarai Gray has been linked to a move to Saudi Arabia's Pro League.

Losing any or all of those players would restrict Dyche's squad numbers but with little time, and even less money at his disposal, the manager admits there is a risk to player trading and it may ultimately see them come out worse off.

"There are a few clubs circling our players; (Iwobi) is one of them.

"The obvious thing is the club have to look at the business side of it, quite obviously, a player with a year left.

"Money is not free-flowing, so it has to be looked at. There is him and Tom Cannon in a similar situation.

"(Gray) is another one with a couple of situations swirling around."

Everton's long pursuit of Udinese striker Beto, who scored on on his debut in the Carabao Cup win over Doncaster, was only completed on Tuesday due to the nature of the finance available and the structure of the deal they could do.

With very little cash to spare, Dyche could be faced with a situation where he loses key players but is not able to replace them.

But he accepts those are the circumstances he has to work with as the club is still battling Financial Fair Play restrictions.

"Deals have to be done, money has to be available. If anything happens with those players then we will quickly assess what can be done next," he added.

"We are obviously monitoring situations but at the end of the day you need finances to make them work.

"It's seeing what is available. The market is unforgiving at the best of times.

"There has been a delay because of the finances, that has been tricky.

"We have been trying to find our way but it has been difficult.

"Every manager, in an ideal world, wants the players in before the first day of pre-season training. It is simply not that easy.

"There is usually some activity (late on) but we haven't been in front of that activity because of the financial situation.

"We have had to wait, construct deals we are capable of doing. My job is to manage the reality of what the challenge is, the group we have and where we can add to it where we can.

"There is a business to run as well. The business has to say 'We are going to have to do that'.

"If we can't get anyone in that's part of the risk-reward of playing trading and usually you can only win that battle if you have plenty of money in the first place and you are pro-active."

On the positive front, striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin does not require an operation on the cheekbone injury he sustained at Aston Villa but is "touch and go" for Sheffield United this weekend.

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