The Toffees want to bolster their right-back position before the widow slams shut tonight and have identified Arsenal’s Maitland-Niles as their top target.
Everton tabled a loan offer for the 24-year-old but it was deemed unacceptable by Arsenal, who asked him to remains at the club and fight for a spot under boss Mikel Arteta.
The Englishman is keen on moving to Goodison Park as he wants to play regular football as a full-back and took to social media to express his frustrations over a move to Everton possibly collapsing.
Maitland-Niles is set for crunch talks with Arteta to allow him to leave today and Arsenal are open to sanctioning an exit but only on their terms.
The Gunners will let Maitland-Niles leave if they receive a compelling offer from potential suitors like Everton.
The Merseyside outfit saw their former right-back target Denzel Dumfries join Inter this summer, while Rangers knocked back multiple offers for Nathan Patterson.
Everton want to bring in additional support for Seamus Coleman and it remains to be seen whether they will go in with an improved offer for Maitland-Niles with only hours left in the window.
