It has been a testing summer for Everton, but David Moyes’s patience in the transfer market is about to be rewarded, with the manager closing in on three high-profile signings that he hopes will strengthen the club’s push for a top-four finish.

Everton have agreed a deal with CSKA Moscow for Vágner Love, the Brazil striker, who is expected to join on a season-long loan with a view to a permanent £13 million move that would smash the club’s transfer record. Love, 24, who has been capped 21 times, is due on Merseyside for a medical today, with Everton hoping to wrap up a deal in the next 48 hours, provided that there are no problems regarding the player’s application for a work permit.

Moyes has been in the market for a striker since Andrew Johnson requested to leave, with the forward completing a £13 million move to Fulham last week, although Love’s arrival will not necessarily signal the end of Moyes’s interest in Diego Milito, the Real Zaragoza and Argentina striker.

Stéphane M’Bia, the Rennes mid-field player who is away with Cam-eroon at the Olympics, is also expected to arrive as a replacement for Lee Carsley after the French club accepted a £6 million bid. Alan Smith should sign from Newcastle United for about £2 million this week, despite Kevin Keegan, the manager, insisting the opposite yesterday.

Everton’s spending could reach nearly £40 million if Moyes succeeds in his efforts to sign João Moutinho, the Sporting Lisbon and Portugal mid-field player. Sporting have rejected bids of £11.8 million and £13 million, with Everton likely to have to pay about £16 million, even though there are no guarantees that the Portuguese club will let the highly rated 21-year-old leave at that price. Filipe Soares Franco, the Sporting chairman, is proving a tough negotiator and is thought to be demanding at least £20 million for Moutinho, who impressed for Portugal at Euro 2008.

Moyes has refused to compromise in the transfer market this summer, with the manager determined to sign only players he believes will improve Everton’s chances of gate-crashing the so-called “big four” of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liver-pool. It is a tactic that could be about to pay off, even though Moyes knows that any arrivals will be thrust straight in at the deep end with the Barclays Premier League season kicking off this weekend. Everton’s opening match is at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.