Everton may need a January rethink as Smalling begins Old Trafford contract talks

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Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has moved to all but confirm that the club will not be doing any January transfer business in the winter window.

Some may view that as managing expectations or trying to get selling clubs to keep their prices reasonable, but as it stands, that’s Everton’s policy and any mid-season business would be something of a surprise.

Despite that, in recent days, Chris Smalling had been linked with a move to Goodison Park. His contract at Manchester United runs out at the end of the season and although the Old Trafford outfit can trigger a clause that extends it for an extra season, a cut-price deal could be there to be done.

But Smalling has now reportedly opened talks over a renewal at United, and if he signs a new contract, surely that would be the end of Everton’s hopes of signing him.

Quite why Everton want Smalling is another matter but if they do, then they will likely need to shelve their conservative January plans and swoop.

Otherwise, the chances are that Smalling will sign one last big contract at United, which would likely rule Marco Silva out of the running to land him, or at the very least bump the asking price right up.