Recently by Dominic King

EVERTON are ready to go head-to-head with Manchester City to win the battle for Shaun Wright-Phillips.

The England international is surplus to requirements at Chelsea and will move on before the transfer window closes with his destination set to be either Goodison Park or Eastlands.

Blues officials have been in contact with Chelsea over the possibility of taking Wright-Phillips on loan, while City have made a firm offer for their former winger.

Wright-Phillips has reluctantly accepted that he is not in Luiz Felipe Scolari's plans and Chelsea have indicated they will leave the final decision where he moves to down to the 26-year-old.

The move for Wright-Phillips comes swiftly after Everton made Lars Jacobsen their first summer signing and it is likely to be the start of a hectic week of transfer activity at Goodison.

IF yellow is the colour synonymous with those faint of heart, the hue of Everton's latest away kit could not be any less appropriate.

As we are all well aware, the days when simplicity was the only thing needed to design a team strip have long gone but even in this era of the football shirt becoming a fashion garment, the garishness of the ensemble which Everton wore on Saturday defied belief.

Luminous to the point that it clashed with the high-visibility vests worn by stewards at The Hawthorns, it's the kind of garment to make you stand out in a crowd - in other words, it's not something you would want on if circumstances became embarrassing.

Fortunately, the only embarrassment that the Toffees suffered at the end of another testing week was sartorially and the defeat many envisaged at West Brom never materialised as David Moyes' men again showed they have the stomach for a fight.

DAVID MOYES is facing the biggest challenge of his Everton career after admitting just one more injury will leave the Blues in chaos.

The Everton manager has yet to make his first summer signing and, with the deadline on September 1, is aware time to act is running out.

The need for him to move swiftly has been highlighted in the past 48 hours with Phil Neville (ankle) and Dan Gosling (thigh) picking up injuries which make them major doubts for today's clash with West Brom.

DAVID Moyes will be urging his players find strength in adversity when they head into battle this afternoon.

Following another fruitless week in the transfer market, frustrations at Finch Farm were exacerbated in the last 48 hours when both Dan Gosling and Phil Neville pulled up lame in training to make them unlikely starters at The Hawthorns.

Given that Everton's squad is not so much down to the bare bones but through to the marrow, the last thing Moyes needed going into this tussle with West Bromwich Albion is to lose his most experienced player and a youngster with infectious energy.

THE date has, in all likelihood, been marked in your diary ever since that unforgettable evening against Fiorentina and the wait is nearly over.

Six days from now, the movers and shakers in European football will convene in Monaco to see how the draws for this season's Champions League and UEFA Cup unfold and Evertonians will be hoping the balls come out in their favour.

Fortune has not exactly smiled on the Blues since they have been back mixing it with the best on the continent, as pairings with Villarreal and Dinamo Bucharest proved in 2005, while last season threw up another far from straightforward duel with Metalist Kharkiv.

WHILE one young Evertonian will be going for gold tomorrow, another crop of Boy Blues will be aiming to learn fast as they continue their footballing education.

Victor Anichebe will aim to fulfil a dream and win Olympic gold with Nigeria in Beijing's Bird's Nest, but while the venue will not be so glamorous 5,186 miles away at the Hawthorns, the occasion will be of equal importance to another septet from Everton's Academy.

Brows may have been furrowed and heads shaken when David Moyes named his bench for last Saturday's opening Premier League fixture against Blackburn, yet try telling the young men who got a sample of the big time that things had come too soon.

Of course, there will have been nerves, but few would dispute that Jack Rodwell belied his 17 years to acquit himself with great credit in the centre of midfield, while Jose Baxter, who became the youngest player in Everton's history, also hinted at great promise.

EVERTON are poised to open transfer talks with giant Serbian star Nikola Zigic today - as James Vaughan prepared to make his return to first team action.

David Moyes is desperate to bolster his paper thin squad but has so far failed to make any new additions even though he has pursued several leads.

Signing a striker has long been a priority - especially since Andrew Johnson was sold to Fulham - and Valencia's Zigic, 27, who turned down a move to Stoke City earlier this summer, may fill the void.

The Spaniards are prepared to let the three-time Serbian Player of the Year leave for 9m euros - despite paying 15m euros when they signed him from Racing Santander last summer - but the Blues would prefer a loan move with a view to a permanent signing.

Zigic, a towering 6ft 8ins, is a traditional target-man capped 28 times by his country, scoring 12 times.

EVERTON were today waiting for a decision from Tiago after they agreed a 12-month loan deal with Juventus for the Portugal international.

Tiago has failed to sparkle at the Stadio Delli' Alpi and Juventus manager Claudio Ranieri is eager to move him on but the former Chelsea midfielder is deliberating over whether he wants to play in the Premier League again.

The Blues have thrashed out an arrangement with their Italian counterparts which gives them the opportunity to turn the loan into a permanent transfer next year but, with the ball now firmly in Tiago's court, there is nothing more they can do but wait for his answer.

TIM CAHILL today set his sights on a return to Premier League action within a month - as he confirmed his rehabilitation is going according to plan.

The influential Australian has not played for the first team since breaking the fifth metatarsal in his left foot for the third time during a 1-1 draw against West Ham in March and Everton have sorely missed his goals and drive from midfield.

Cahill was successfully operated on by leading Australian specialist Kim Slater earlier this summer and stepped up his fitness programme when he joined Everton's squad for the start of the pre-season tour to the United States.

EVERTON confirmed today that negotiations were still ongoing with Portuguese midfielder Tiago.

But the Blues have ruled out a deal for Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard.

Reports today claimed that Juventus midfielder Tiago had snubbed a move to Goodison, and that Bullard was on the verge of arriving for £4m.

But both stories have been rubbished.

The Blues are still locked in talks with Tiago's representatives and are hopeful of completing a 12-month loan deal with a view to a permanent move.

But there is no interest in bringing Bullard north again.

A club spokesman has confirmed, meanwhile, that Sir Philip Carter is back on the board of directors.