---
title: "Everton miss out on Nzonzi as Rennes close in on loan deal"
canonical: "https://readeverton.com/everton-miss-out-on-nzonzi-as-rennes-close-in-on-loan-deal/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Elliott Cuff"
section: "Feature Writers"
published: "2020-01-30T18:00:00Z"
modified: "2020-01-30T18:00:00Z"
---

# Everton miss out on Nzonzi as Rennes close in on loan deal

Rennes have reached an agreement to sign Roma midfielder Steven Nzonzi on loan until the end of the season, with a view to making the move permanent, [according to journalist Mohamed Bouhafsi](https://twitter.com/mohamedbouhafsi/status/1222915233548767232) on Twitter.

Everton have been linked with the Frenchman for much of the past month, with [Futbol Arena](https://www.futbolarena.com/galatasaray/gs-transfer-steven-nzonziden-sheffield-uniteda-transfer-yaniti-378045h/) claiming as recently as last week that the Blues were ‘conducting transfer negotiations’ for the midfielder.

Having fallen out with Galatasaray during his season-long loan in Turkey earlier this season ([Mail Online](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7794567/Galatasaray-boss-Fatih-Terim-slams-Steven-Nzonzi-disrespectful-suspended-indefinitely.html)), it had looked likely that Nzonzi would move this month, with Aston Villa ([Mirror Sport](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/aston-villa-eyeing-steven-nzonzi-21277666?_ga=2.197300585.771101033.1578994492-1524448644.1572952515)) and West Ham ([Gazzetta dello Sport](https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Serie-A/Roma/07-01-2020/under-perotti-nzonzi-roma-son-cose-turche-3502480110628.shtml)) also interested in the former Stoke man.

Now Rennes have won the race, [according to Bouhafsi](https://twitter.com/mohamedbouhafsi/status/1222915233548767232), with the World Cup winner expected to undertake a medical for the Ligue 1 side on Friday.

### Read Everton Verdict

With [Carlo Ancelotti have declared](https://readeverton.com/2020/01/20/ancelotti-plays-down-everton-transfer-rumours/) that the “newspapers are wrong” and that “Sky are wrong” when speaking in his pre-match press conference prior to facing Newcastle last week, Nzonzi is yet another target who we can’t be sure of the legitimacy of Everton’s supposed interest in.

With the towering Frenchman [Having played just under 200 Premier League games](https://www.premierleague.com/players/3821/Steven-Nzonzi/overview) in the past, Nzonzi would certainly have brought an element of experience to a midfield area that has been depleted through injury this season, and that experience would have enabled Nzonzi to come straight in and immediately compete.

Andre Gomes came back to first team training this week following just 86 days on the sidelines since breaking his ankle against Tottenham in November, and with Ancelotti claiming today in his press conference ([Liverpool Echo](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/carlo-ancelotti-gives-latest-andre-17659901)) that he thinks that “he can recover soon”, perhaps Everton have decided that signing another midfielder is no longer necessary.

That said, I would personally have preferred the security and the ‘new signing boost’, and so I would have liked to have seen Everton make a move for Nzonzi, or anyone else who can fill a role in a similar manner to be honest. There is still time for business to be done, and we’ll just have to be patient and wait and see whether the club can pull out the stops on Deadline Day.