Report: Norwich agree $11.8million deal for Everton striker Naismith
Norwich City have agreed an £8million ($11.8million) deal to sign Steven Naismith from Everton but face competition from Premier League rivals.
The Canaries tried to sign Naismith over the summer and had a bid of around £7million ($10.3million) rejected by the Toffees.
Everton boss Roberto Martinez was initially unwilling to allow the Scotland international to leave Goodison Park, however his stance has now changed due to the form of Gerard Deulofeu.
And according to The Guardian, a fee has now been agreed between the two clubs, though the likes of Aston Villa, Newcastle, Sunderland and Swansea are also interested in the 29-year-old.
Naismith has started only four matches in the Premier League this season, despite scoring a hat-trick against reigning champions Chelsea in September.
Martinez admitted the former Rangers man’s future would be resolved in the coming weeks, but does not believe a move is imminent.
“We speak constantly – in terms of making a decision about the next step and his future, it’s going to be over the next couple of weeks,” the Spaniard said.
“We’ve got a really busy period now and we need to make sure we go through these games. Mid-January will be a perfect moment to have a little bit more of a calm period to look into detail.
“We all know Steven Naismith had one Premier League club show an interest in the previous window and I’m sure that’s an open secret so I understand those rumors are there.
“At the moment there’s nothing to comment. During January we will make sure we know exactly how we need to move forward – it will be the case with every player that is not performing or is not playing a lot of minutes. We need to make sure we go through the window in the best possible way.”
Naismith may not be the only forward that has to leave Goodison Park in order to find regular first-team football, with Belgium international Kevin Mirallas only starting twice in the league this term.
Martinez, who did reiterate Mirallas remains a big part of his plans, knows the January transfer window is typically a time of contemplation for those not featuring as frequently as they would like.
“As a footballer, the windows are going to present a situation where, if you’re not playing regularly or you’re not starting the amount of games you expect, you want to think about what’s next,” he said.
“It’s exactly the same as a football club – we need to make sure that our players find themselves that they can get back into the team and they feel they have a strong belief to end up back playing.”
