Transfer insider Dean Jones insists that Dele Alli is very unlikely to change his mind about joining Everton because he has had such "positive" talks with new manager Frank Lampard. 

The attacking midfielder appears to be closing in on a move away from Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day, with the Toffees leading the race for his signature, although The Athletic's David Ornstein has suggested that Newcastle United have made a late bid to hijack the move. 

What's the latest with Dele? 

He has been repeatedly linked away during this transfer window but it appears that he is finally set to move on from Spurs in the coming hours. 

Everton are said to have negotiated a deal with Spurs that will see them sign Dele on a permanent deal, rather than on the loan deal that Newcastle are said to be proposing. 

The Guardian has reported that the deal is an initial free transfer but the Toffees will pay £10m for him after he has reached 20 appearances for the club. Thereafter, add-ons are included in the deal that could see it reach £30m. 

Newcastle are said to have made a late move to take him on loan but it appears that he will move to Goodison Park, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that there is very unlikely to be a successful hijack of the deal from the Magpies. 

Jones has echoed those sentiments, insisting that he has held positive conversations with new manager Lampard following his appointment as Rafael Benitez's successor, and is set to be deployed in a 4-3-3 at Goodison Park. 

What has Jones said? 

He told GiveMeSport: "I'd be very surprised if he changed his mind this late on, he's had such positive conversations with Lampard and one thing he sold him is Lampard's vison of his team and the way he likes to play.

"When Lampard was at Chelsea, we saw they played a 4-3-3 with two eights and for Dele, that's perfect, almost."

Rangnick job offer! More on Football Terrace...

What are Dele's stats this season? 

He's not been playing all that much. 

The 25-year-old has made just 10 Premier League appearances under both Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte and has completed the 90 minutes just five times. 

He has fallen down the pecking order and has only scored one league goal, scoring from the penalty spot in a 1-0 win over Wolves early in the season. 

His only other goal this season came in the 5-1 win over NS Mura in the Europa Conference League.