Only a matter of time before Blues offer me new deal, insists Douc

Midfielder makes appearance on fans TV channel to express his desire to stay

- By CHRIS BEESLEY

ABDOULAYE Doucoure insists he “would love to stay” at Everton but will assess his options for the future when the contract offer that he expects from the club comes through.

The 32-year-old has made 164 appearances for the Blues and scored 21 goals - including the dramatic match-winning strike against Bournemouth on the final day of the 2022/23 season that saved the club from a first relegation in 72 years - since making a £20million move from Watford in 2020 after they had dropped into the Championship.

Everton declined to take up their option to trigger a one-year extension on Doucoure's current contract that expires this summer, ensuring that he is currently able to talk to other clubs about the possibility of joining them on a Bosman-style free transfer.

Speaking on Fozcast, a podcast hosted by goalkeeper Ben Foster, one of his former team-mates at Vicarage Road, which was published last week, the Mali international said (as of mid-April), he had not been in dialogue with the club over his future and suggested he did not believe he should be offered reduced terms.

However, Doucoure has now claimed that he is expecting Everton to offer him a new deal.

He told Toffee TV, an Everton fan channel: “It’s still up in the air.

The club are going to offer me a new contract soon and obviously I am happy about that, I think I deserve a new contract.