Blues win chase for the new ZZ

EVERTON have beaten Arsenal to the capture of Dutch wonderkid Joshua Zirkzee from Feyenoord.

The Gunners were leading the race for the 16-year-old but Everton moved so quickly that he made his debut for the Under-19s in a youth tournament in Prague yesterday.

Zirkzee (above) is rated one of the best young talents in Europe after scoring 33 goals in just 27 games for Feyenoord’s youth team last season.

Blues boss Ronald Koeman has also agreed a deal to sign Newcastle defender Lewis Gibson (below). Everton are paying up to £6million for the highly-rated centre-half, who was also attracting the attention of Spurs. Despite making seven senior signings already this summer, Everton have also pinned their faith in youth. Germany Under-20 forward Anton Donkor has rejoined from Wolfsburg, and QPR’s Josh Bowler, Metz striker Boris Mathis, and Nathangelo Markelo from Dutch outfit FC Volendam have all been snapped up this summer.