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Everton make £26m bid for Norwich central defender Ben Godfrey

Ben Godfrey in action against Bournemouth for Norwich  - Getty Images
Ben Godfrey in action against Bournemouth for Norwich - Getty Images

Everton have made a bid worth £26million for Norwich City’s Ben Godfrey as they seek to line up an alternative to Fikayo Tomori in case Chelsea do not allow their central defender to leave on loan.

Tomori emerged as Everton’s first choice to solve their defensive problems, but negotiations over a season-long loan have been delayed by doubts over Antonio Rudiger’s Chelsea future.

It is understood that Everton and Tomori are waiting to find out whether or not the 22-year-old will be allowed out on loan and, in the meantime, the Toffees have made an offer to Norwich, worth an initial £20m, plus £6m in add ons, for central defender Godfrey.

While any loan for Tomori would need to be agreed by October 5, when the transfer deadline between Premier League clubs passes, Everton would have until October 16 to complete the signing of Godfrey because of the extended deadline between the top flight and the EFL.

That means Everton could potentially see whether or not they can sign Tomori, before finalising a deal for Godfrey once the October 5 Premier League deadline has passed.

Tomori started Chelsea’s Carabao Cup penalty shootout defeat to Tottenham Hotspur and has risen above Rudiger in head coach Frank Lampard’s pecking order.

But the 22-year-old wants to play regular first-team football this season and will be concerned that he would spend most of the season behind Thiago Silva, Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma at Stamford Bridge.

Everton could offer Tomori a better guarantee of starting games, but Lampard may be reluctant to allow both him and Rudiger to leave, and potentially leave himself short of cover at the back.

Rudiger has attracted interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur, although Chelsea would ideally want the German international to extend his contract by a year before leaving on loan.