New Everton boss Marco Silva is keen to make Jamaal Lascelles his first signing as Toffees boss, according to reports.
There is uncertainty surrounding the north-east club and Silva is ready to try and captialise on the situation with a £30million bid for the centre-back.
The Sun reports that Lascelles would be the ideal long-term partner at the back with Michael Keane as Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams are coming towards the end of their careers.
Rafa Benitez’s future at Newcastle is still unclear as he has not agreed a new contract with the club.
And Lascelles, 24, is among the players who may look at their future as the the Spaniard’s talks rumble on.
Everton’s local rivals Liverpool have also tracked Lascelles who missed out on a place in England’s World Cup squad.
But there is an air of optimism among Everton fans after hiring Silva and escaping from the arguably rigid style of football under the Portuguese’s predecessor Sam Allardyce.
Silva said after he was announced as the new manager: “We want to build a great connection between the squad and the fans, and I’m sure that with our attitude and demands of commitment then our style of play will see that, I believe.
“Everton is a really ambitious club and that is what I want. What we are seeing now are good changes at the club.
“The club is changing its approach.”
The Magpies will be desperate to keep hold of their captain, with Benitez claiming Lascelles has “huge potential.”
Benitez said at the end of the 2017/18 season: “I think he will stay here, and hopefully for the long-term.
“He has huge potential and big clubs will look at him because he is a young, English centre-back.
“It is not easy to find good centre-backs who can play well in the Premier League, especially not English ones, and it’s even harder to find young ones.
“He has all the attributes to be a target for all top teams because you can see from his performances over the last two years he keeps getting better and better.
“But I think that for his future, and for his development, that he stays in a place where he can play and he can improve and continue to keep getting better with us.
“I think he understands that too. He seems happy and he is learning all the time, so I hope he stays for a long time.”
