Everton FC face a race against time to find the £11m they need to sign Charles N’Zogbia.

Jun 11 2011 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo

EVERTON face a race against time to generate the £11m they need to land top summer target Charles N’Zogbia.

After failing to land German striker Miroslav Klose, David Moyes has identified French international N’Zogbia as the man to fire the Blues back into Europe next season.

But Wigan Athletic want a fee of up to £11m for the 25-year-old, and Moyes is unable to make a bid until recouping some of the funds via the sales of Joseph Yobo and Yakubu.

The hitch is that Turkish champions Fenerbahce are dragging their feet over meeting Everton’s £4m valuation of the Nigerian international, and a deal for Yakubu is looking increasingly complicated.

It means Moyes risks missing out on N’Zogbia, who scored a memorable goal for Wigan against Everton at the DW Stadium in April, and is also coveted by Newcastle, Sunderland, and Juventus.

Wigan have claimed they will only sell N’Zogbia to a Champions League side, but Moyes is hoping to convince them to let him move to Goodison, and has had indications the player may welcome a move to Merseyside, increasing his urgency to find the cash.

Everton have already accepted they will lose Yakubu for less than the £6m West Ham bid for him last year, but the striker’s reluctance to drop down to the Championship continues to make a move to Leicester City, where he scored 11 goals on loan last season, unlikely.

The Yak’s agents have also touted him to Fenerbahce, but any solid move for the 28-year-old former Portsmouth goal-scorer is yet to materialise.

If Moyes loses out on N’Zogbia, he will try to bring West Ham target-man Demba Ba to Goodison, and he is also keeping tabs on pacy Sporting Lisbon striker Yannick Djalo, although the chances of him raising the funds to sign the Portugal star are remote.