Speaking exclusively with Football FanCast, former England international Carlton Palmer says that he expects Bernard and Cenk Tosun to leave Everton before the January transfer deadline passes.

Both players have been heavily linked with moves away from Goodison Park during the mid-season market, having struggled to establish themselves as vital members of Carlo Ancelotti’s plans as the Toffees challenge for a top-four finish.

Roma had discussed including Bernard in a swap deal involving Sweden international Robin Olsen, currently on loan with Everton, yet failed to get a deal across the line with the Toffees requesting a significant fee to be included for the exit of their £120,000-per-week midfielder, but they still seem interested in the player.

Everton have also fielded interest from a host of Turkish clubs in Tosun as the Merseyside club continues to search for suitors for a third season, per the Liverpool Echo. West Bromwich Albion have additionally made a tentative approach for Sam Allardyce’s alleged top target, though are yet to table any formal offers.

Palmer expects both will eventually find routes out of Goodison Park before the winter market slams shut on February 1st, as Tosun and Bernard should be putting playing time ahead of any potential payday.

When asked if he expects the duo to leave before the window closes, he said:

“Yeah, absolutely. I don't understand any player that is not currently playing [wanting to stay at a club],” Palmer told FFC.

“You've got to assess yourself. If you're out of the team because the team's playing well, then that’s not a problem. You get your head down and work hard and try and get back in the team. But if you’ve had a conversation with the manager and you're not in the manager's plans, I don't see [why you would stay].

“It's a short career, get yourself out and go and play. I just don’t get it. Especially in the Premier League, now. It's not like back in the day, when I was playing, well, in the early days, towards the end, the big money was coming in. But in the Premier League now, you can go to a side [like] West Brom, you can get £30 grand a week. So, the money's there, get out and play.”

Bernard made only his 11th appearance of the season across all competitions when coming off the bench as a 67th-minute substitute at home to Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup.

The 28-year-old has further only started four of his outings to date, and has played just 107 minutes of Premier League football over Everton’s last nine fixtures while left an unused substitute in six of those matches.

Tosun, who earns £60,000-per-week on the five-year contract penned when signed for £27m under Allardyce in 2018, similarly has only played 43 minutes of top-flight action this term. He was also left out of the matchday squad to face the Owls on Sunday with a slight knock, which is not expected to prevent any potential transfer this month.

AND in other news, Everton have joined the growing race to sign a lethal £75k-p/w Premier League star…