Erling Haaland joins Riquelme and Hazard in list of stars Everton a…

Premier League clubs spend record £815m in January transfer window

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Erling Haaland is the latest player to add his name to the list of stars who came close to joining Everton. The striker is widely regarded as one of the best players in world football currently, though he almost ended up at Goodison Park, where his career trajectory may have gone differently.

Haaland has scored 27 goals in 25 appearances for City this season in the league, with the Norwegian looking likely to break the record for the most goals scored in a single Premier League campaign. The Norway international is still getting to grips with life under Pep Guardiola, with his teammates still working to amend their playstyle to get the very best out of the former Red Bull Salzburg star.

Despite not slotting seamlessly into Pep Gaurdiola’s team, the forward is still helping City launch a bid to win the treble and is a leading contender to win the Player of the Season award. Such glory would be a significant success given that it is Haaland’s first season in England, and it would remind Everton of how horrific their decision-making has been over the years.

According to ESPN, the Toffees could have signed Haaland whilst he was at Molde for a fee of just £8.9million but turned their back on the striker in favour of putting their faith in Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The England international has struggled with injuries since then, proving to be a defensive nightmare on the few occasions that he is fully fit.

Haaland has since scored 97 more career goals than Calvert-Lewin, and he is a weekly reminder to Everton fans of how questionable their recruitment has been. Though the news of how close they came to signing the 22-year-old won’t come as a surprise to anyone given that the Toffees have such an eye for spotting talent but snubbing it.

The club were very keen on Sporting Lisbon prospect Joao Moutinho but failed to ever strike a deal for his services, which has proved a poor decision in hindsight. Defensive stars Kalidou Koulibaly and Kostas Manolas were also close to heading to Goodison Park, as well as Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney – but none ended up on Merseyside, much to Everton’s regret.

In 2012, David Moyes, whilst Everton boss, admitted that he had pushed for his side to sign Eden Hazard whilst he was at Lille before he started to meet his potential and consequently earn himself a move to Chelsea. It was revealed that Moyes was not provided with the funds to pursue the Belgium winger, which was a horrific decision.

Argentine legend Riquelme also came very close to joining Everton in 2007, so much so that the deal was announced on the club’s official website for a matter of hours – which was later ruled as ‘test data being displayed’ rather than concrete news.

Reports circulated that the midfielder was in talks to join the Toffees, though never came to fruition. And he is one of just many top-level footballers never to have signed for Everton. How different things could be now had they bought some of those players in recent years, however…

Source: Read Full Article