Sources: Everton hijack Newcastle United Rice deal
Everton have hijacked Newcastle United's deal for Southampton transfer guru Dan Rice, sources have told Football Insider.
This site revealed earlier on Monday (3 April) that the Saints' head of youth recruitment has quit the club for a move after two years at the Premier League club.
Rice has been targeted by Newcastle as part of a huge overhaul of their entire transfer set-up.
The north-east giants have submitted an offer to the talent spotter and were confident of finalising a deal.
But Everton have now made an eleventh-hour move for Rice.
It is believed that the Merseysiders are now in talks to appoint the former Southampton man as their head of emerging talent.
Rice joined the Saints in February 2021 as a player recruitment manager for their Under13-Under19 sides and previously worked as an academy recruitment manager at Arsenal.
He spent eight years at Fulham prior to his jobs at the Gunners and Southampton.
Newcastle had been planning on adding Rice as one of several appointments as sporting director Dan Ashworth sets out on an ambitious recruitment drive.
But it now seems Ashworth's plans could be hijacked by Everton who have made a move for Rice.
The Toffees are currently struggling at the bottom of the table with 26 points from 28 games.
Sean Dyche's side are 18th in the top flight and face the real threat of relegation with less than ten league games to go.
Newcastle on the other hand are flying at the top end of the table and are currently third after a 2-0 win over Man United yesterday (2 April).
Eddie Howe's side are joint on points with United and have set their sights on a Champions League spot for next season.