Everton could be well on their way to making their third signing at the club, a signing that reunites Rafa Benitez with a familiar face whilst offloading a problem for the Spanish manager.

What's the word?

Sky Sports have reported that Everton have made an offer to sign Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff this winter.

However, the Magpies are keen to hold onto the player, despite the 24-year-old being out of contract in the summer.

That said, according to Keith Downie, Lucas Digne could be used in the deal as a sweetener.

Everton manager, Benitez, worked with the Geordie midfielder when he was managing Newcastle United from 2016 until 2019 when his contract expired with the North East club.

Benitez would love him

Benitez had always been full of praise for Longstaff when he worked with him, hailing the player "humble" when talking about him during his time in the toon:

“He is somebody who will continue to get better because he listens to you and works hard. He’s very humble.”

“My understanding is that his family and the people around him are focused and will give him the right advice.”

The Spanish manager will be hoping the £23k-per-week gem is given the right advice to join Everton this January, with the deal rumoured to include left-back, Digne, who has been frozen out of the side after a training ground argument with the manager about tactics.

Longstaff has made 14 appearances for Newcastle with one goal and one assist this season so far, and just over a month ago, OptaJoe released a statistic on Twitter that the Magpies midfielder had applied the most pressure to his opposition in the Premier League.

Everton are not short of midfielders, so it will be interesting to see how Benitez will fit Longstaff into his line-up's for Everton or who he will drop out to accommodate the new addition if he does make the move to Goodison Park this month.

Either way, he is certainly a player the Spaniard would love to be reunited with judging by his previous comments.

In other news: Rafa can axe Seamus Coleman after securing new signing