Chelsea and Arsenal £90m target absent from club's matchday squad as deadline looms large

Chelsea and Arsenal transfer target Amadou Onana has been left out of the Everton squad to face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Tuesday night.

The midfielder was not in the starting XI or on the bench as Sean Dyche named his Toffees side to take on the Cottagers in the Premier League. It comes in a week when the player continues to be linked with a move away from the club.

Onana completed 90 minutes against Luton Town in his side's FA Cup defeat last weekend but is believed to be absent from the Fulham encounter due to a thigh injury, rather than ongoing transfer speculation.

Clarifying his team selection, Everton manager Dyche said: "He did well to finish the game on Saturday. He got a knock on his knee and there's a bit of fluid in there. We don't think it's anything serious, but this one has come around too quick."

Dyche has made four changes to his side with Ashley Young, Jordan Pickford, Ben Godfrey and Arnaut Danjuma coming into the starting XI - the latter of the trio is also tipped to leave Goodison Park before the window closes this week.

It's the first action that Onana has missed for Everton since being ruled out for three fixtures in late November due to a calf issue. So far this season, he has made 17 appearances for the side and bagged one goal.

The 22-year-old has been named as a transfer target this January with Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle United all linked with moves for the Belgium international. It had been reported that Everton could ask for a huge fee between £70 million and £90 million to sanction a mid-season move, having paid £33.5 million for the player's services in August 2022.

The latest transfer update appeared to suggest that Onana would stay at Everton this winter, with Belgian outlet DH Les Sports reporting that the midfielder would stay at the club and fight to help the side away from any potential relegation battle this term.