Monday 5 August 2019 13:57, UK
Watford have rejected Everton's £32m bid for midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure.
The Frenchman, who played in Watford's 2-1 friendly victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday, has four years left on his present deal at Vicarage Road
Sky Sports News understand Watford have no intention of selling the 26-year old, but reports in France suggest Everton boss Marco Silva will return to his former club with a second bid before the transfer window closes on Thursday.
After arriving at Watford in the summer of 2016, Doucoure broke into Walter Mazzarri's starting line-up midway through the season and quickly established himself as a key player.
Doucoure remained a central figure when Marco Silva took over the following summer, before the Portuguese manager's acrimonious exit from Vicarage Road amid interest from Everton, which eventually resulted in the Toffees paying compensation to Watford.
Despite the ill-feeling between the clubs, Everton and Silva were able to complete a deal to sign winger Richarlison from Watford last summer, and are now attempting to take another key player away from Vicarage Road.
Everton have already completed the signings of central midfielders Andre Gomes, Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Fabian Delph for a combined total of more than £50m, but with Idrissa Gueye having departed for PSG, Silva appears keen to add further reinforcements.
It's Transfer Deadline Day for the Premier League and Championship on Thursday, August 8 and Sky Sports will be bringing you all the latest news on who your club is signing.
Start your day with Deadline Day Breakfast (6am) ahead of a special Good Morning Transfers show (9am), with Deadline Day - The Countdown (4pm) taking you to the 5pm deadline.
The Transfer Show - Deadline Day at 6pm will analyse the big moves before Deadline Day at Ten rounds up all the transfer headlines.
