Updated Everton were said to be favourites to land Jaden Philogene from Hull City, with the clubs reportedly agreeing a fee in the region of £16m, but the Blues are refusing to engage in a bidding war.
The clubs were reportedly in talks but they were complicated when Aston Villa entered the mix and it now appears that, after telling Everton that Goodison Park was his preferred destination, the winger has his heart set on Ipswich Town after all.
After his agent performed a bizarre Peter Odemwingie-style stunt last week by turning up in Barcelona hoping to force through a deal with the Spanish giants (Barcelona claimed not to know who he was), Philogene looked set to move to Portman Road in a double move along with Jacob Reeves.
The newly-promoted Tractor Boys had reportedly struck a £35m deal with Hull for the pair, despite the player apparently wanting to join Everton.
Following suggestions from the Daily Mail and TeamTalk that Philogene had told the Toffees as much, the likes of Paul Joyce in The Times and Alan Myers of Sky Sports reported that Everton had submitted a formal bid to Hull and that he could end up on Merseyside after all.
That now appears unlikely, with many of the same outlets claiming that Philogene wants the Ipswich move after all and The Athletic say he is set to undergo a medical ahead of a £15m transfer that includes a further £5m in add-ons.
Kevin Thelwell is said to value Philogene at around £15m and was reluctant to go higher than that, hence subsequent reports that he could switch his attention to Watford winger Yaser Asprilla for a similar price.