Everton could take £7million from Ipswich to sell Ellis Simms in order for Sean Dyche to sign a Premier League-calibre replacement, says Carlton Palmer.

The Championship club are interested in the Toffees striker, who the manager is believed to be prepared to let go this summer [Liverpool Echo, 26 June], and “have money” for a deal.

But Palmer believes a deal will only go through once enough money to help fund a top flight-ready signing is put on the table for the 22-year-old, who performed well on loan at Sunderland in the second tier last season.

BBC pundit Palmer told Football League World: “It is believed that Ipswich Town have had an increased offer of £4 million turned down for the player Simms.

“He had a banging start of the season at Sunderland, where he was recalled because he was doing so well.

“He made a few starts for Everton. He’s clearly not seen as a starter at Everton, but he’s clearly got ability. So it’s a case of where the money can be, what is he worth?

“Well it’s like anything else, it’s what somebody’s prepared to pay. Obviously, Sean Dyche will want as much money as he can get, so he can bring in replacements. £4 million isn’t going to get him a player to play in the Premier League.

“So we’ll have to see on this one. I think there is a ceiling on what a team will pay for a player in the Championship.

“But, Ipswich will be looking to get promotion out of the Championship next season. It might well be close to £6 or 7 million that Everton might accept for him.”

Value?

It is either going to be a very inexperienced or largely unwanted Premier League option that is available for £7m this summer so Dyche is going to need to be very sure that any replacement can offer more than Simms to let him go.

The former Hearts and Sunderland loanee has only scored once for the Everton first-team, but that matches the output of £15m signing from last summer Neal Maupay.

So unless an incoming option he is confident in is available it may be a cheaper route to just continue Simms’ development in-house.

With clubs linked to former Brighton man Maupay, he is likely to command a higher fee even allowing for the fact that his move to Goodison simply hasn’t worked out.

Everton obviously need to be careful with letting too many attacking options leave without replacements on the cards as the past six months have seen Anthony Gordon and Andros Townsend go, and now any or all of Maupay, Simms and Demarai Gray might follow.

That’s all very well if it funds incoming business but the hit rate on that has been dismal so a Simms sale needs to tread a fine line.