Everton transfer news today: ‘Momentum’ in race for £17m French defender

The exit of defender Nathan Zeze from FC Noem in the Saudi Pro League is advancing, with Everton named as one of the Premier League clubs attentive to the situation, the latest report has revealed.

The Toffees will hope for a more productive campaign, as while they comfortably secured their survival last term, they were not one of the nine English clubs to qualify for Europe.

One of the areas that David Moyes may look to address is his side's defence given Michael Keane and James Tarkowski are both ageing, with both centre-backs arguably needing to be phased out sooner rather than later.

A report from L’Equipe has revealed that the Toffees are interested in signing FC Noem defender Nathan Zeze, who was signed by his current side for just over £17m in the summer of 2025 from Nantes.

However, the same outlet also claim that the 21-year-old is a target of Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, which could complicate matters.

Nathan Zeze latest update: The right defender for David Moyes?

Standing at just below 6ft 3in, Zeze prefers to operate as a left-sided centre-back, and he is capable when asked to play out from the defence having completed 48.6 passes per game in the top flight in 2025-26.

Zeze started 31 Saudi Pro League games last term, and he managed to end the league campaign with an overall duel success rate of 50%.

The 21-year-old only won 45% of his ground duels, and while he won 54% of his aerial duels, he only won 1.3 per game.

Zeze has experience of playing in Europe given the Frenchman spent three seasons in Ligue 1 with Nantes, playing 32 top-flight fixtures, but it remains to be seen if Everton would deem that enough experience to make a purchase.

FW Verdict: A risky transfer for Everton

There is no doubt that Everton need to reduce the age of their squad, and in order to remain competitive, ensuring that their backline is young and athletic would be a good idea.

However, the quality of the Saudi Pro League is significantly below that of many European divisions despite extraordinary investment, and it is not clear whether Zeze will be up to the standard required to make an impact in the Premier League.

Perhaps the fact that he has spent just one season in the league and is still only 21 will mean that any potential regression will be temporary, and if he can get up to speed quickly, he may be a value addition.