Daniel Farke's Norwich City may just manage to keep hold of Max Aarons this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to Fabrizio Romano, who claimed that the Canaries right-back is "not close" to joining Everton at present, despite reports suggesting that the Toffees were already in talks with the 21-year-old regarding a summer transfer.

However, the journalist also claimed that a number of other clubs are "joining the race" for the £18m-rated defender, for whom City are believed to be demanding a fee of around £30m.

Good news for Farke

While it would seem that the interest in Aarons is far from dying down ahead of the summer transfer window, the revelation that Everton are not overly close to completing a deal for the England under-21 international is undeniably good news for Farke.

The defender has been one of the starts of the Championship-winning campaign this season, scoring two goals and registering two assists. He has also averaged 0.7 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and 1.4 key passes per game over his 45 league appearances, culminating in an average WhoScored match rating of 6.93 - ranking him as the Canaries' joint seventh-best performer in the second tier.

As such, losing a player of the 21-year-old's influence prior to their Premier League jaunt next season would undoubtedly be a huge blow for Farke. On the flip side, the news that there are no deals being close to completion for the £17,000-per-week defender - whom Aidy Boothroyd dubbed an "outstanding" talent - will likely have the 44-year-old buzzing at the prospect of retaining Aarons beyond the summer.

However, with the transfer window not having opened as yet, there is still a long summer ahead of Norwich to ensure they retain as many of their in-demand talents as possible, Aarons included.

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