While speaking exclusively with Football FanCast, Carlton Palmer has urged Carlo Ancelotti to back Everton prospect Anthony Gordon over signing Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira.

Everton is believed to be in talks with Khedira over an 18-month contract that will see the German move to Goodison Park in the January transfer window. He is no longer needed at the Allianz Stadium, according to the Express.

The 33-year-old has been given permission to travel to England to meet with the Toffees earlier this week, with Juve desperate to offload Khedira’s £184,000-per-week contract ahead of the 2014 World Cup winner becoming a free agent in the summer.

Everton would need Khedira to take a drastic pay-cut to finalise a move to the Premier League, where his initial deal would feature an option to extend by a further year.

Ancelotti is thought to be confident the midfielder, who he worked with at Real Madrid, still has something to offer at an elite level, despite not playing a single game in any competition this season and making his last Juventus appearance more than a year ago due to injuries.

But former England international Palmer would disagree, and urges Ancelotti to put plans to sign Khedira on hold in order to offer space for Gordon to truly breakthrough into the Everton first-team.

“Yes. 100%, 100%. Khedira would be a gamble now.

"He's been a top-draw player, no arguments about that, German international, won every honour in the game. But, for me, that's a gamble. It’s a gamble paying a lot of money for a player who I don't think has played 35 games in two and a half seasons,” Palmer told Football FanCast.

“It's a lot of money for player, he’s proven experience. He's proven that he's got quality. But also, I think the one thing about Khedira, for me, in the Premier League [he] would find it difficult. He's got good ability, good touch, but the pace of the game, I think the game would leave him behind.”

Khedira made 39 appearances across all competitions in the 2017/18 campaign but saw his game time reduce to 17 outings the following season and 18 last term, with injuries seeing his season end in November before being cast aside by new Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo.

The German won the 2013/14 Champions League under Ancelotti while the duo were at Real Madrid, before lifting five Serie A titles in Turin to add to previous success in La Liga, the Bundesliga, FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

Ancelotti frequently trusted Khedira during his time in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, featuring 35 times outside of injuries, but is yet to back Gordon to a similar level with the 19-year-old starting only six of his 16 appearances to date and playing only 87 minutes in the Premier League so far this season.

AND in other news, Everton can reach a new level by signing a “complete” £31.5m-rated maestro in January.