Everton 'not interested in Chelsea duo'

Until recently, Frank Lampard had bided his time in the transfer market, only making the addition of James Tarkowski at the start of July.

However, that acquisition has since been followed up by securing deals for Burnley and Sporting Lisbon widemen Dwight McNeil and Ruben Vinagre.

While the Toffees are also expected to finalise a reunion with Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Idrissa Gueye in due course, Lampard wants further fresh faces in other areas of the pitch.

Nevertheless, according to The i, that will not result in bids to sign either of Barkley or Batshuayi.

With Chelsea now pressing on with their own transfer business, it is widely believed that Barkley is deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.

At a time when he has less than a year remaining on his contract, the suggestion was that Everton could be keen on handing their former playmaker a second stint on Merseyside.

However, the report claims that the club will not be upping any initial interest in the 28-year-old over the coming weeks.

The same allegedly applies to Batshuayi, who appeared to be a realistic contender to provide competition for Dominic Calvert-Lewin during 2022-23.

Like Barkley, Batshuayi spent time working with Lampard during his time in the Stamford Bridge dugout, scoring six times during 24 outings.

The Belgium international is currently available for transfer having spent last season on loan at Besiktas, where he netted 14 times in Turkey's top flight.

Nevertheless, Everton are said to have no plans to attempt to sign the frontman, with Salomon Rondon the current backup to Calvert-Lewin ahead of the Premier League fixture between the two clubs on Saturday.

Everton had been linked with a loan bid for fellow Chelsea player Billy Gilmour, but it is unlikely whether the expected return of Gueye will take the Scotland international off their shortlist of potential incomings.