Everton are not renowned for being the best-run Premier League club when it comes to buying and selling.
The sales of Yerry Mina (£30m), Jean-Philippe Gbamin (£25m), Davy Klaassen (£23m), Cenk Tosun (£25m) and Gylfi Sigurðsson (£45m), to name but a few, amongst those who have not offered a return on investment.
However, the Toffees will be delighted they cashed in on one winger, bought for a bargain fee, sold for 370% profit and is now struggling in Saudi Arabia.
It’s safe to say he wouldn’t get in the current side…
Everton’s current winger options
Despite being unbeaten in six Premier League games, winning four of them, David Moyes does not have an array of high-quality wingers at his disposal.
Iliman Ndiaye has certainly been the Toffees’ best wide-attacker this season, scoring eight goals across all competitions, although he has missed the last two matches after suffering a ‘medial ligament injury’ during the Merseyside derby.
Meanwhile, Dwight McNeil has not featured since 4th December due to a knee injury that required surgery, leaving Jack Harrison and Jesper Lindstrøm as the only two options, so let’s assess how this quartet compares this season.
|
Everton’s winger comparison 2024/25 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Statistics |
Ndiaye |
McNeil |
Harrison |
Lindstrøm |
|
Appearances |
28 |
15 |
26 |
26 |
|
Minutes |
2,232 |
1,323 |
1,346 |
1,394 |
|
Goals |
8 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
Assists |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
Goals – xG |
+2.2 |
+2.1 |
-2.8 |
-2.1 |
|
Expected assists |
1.5 |
3.5 |
2.2 |
1.9 |
|
Shot-creating actions |
53 |
60 |
34 |
42 |
|
Goal-creating actions |
5 |
6 |
3 |
0 |
|
Take-on success % |
47.2% |
54.1% |
32.1% |
19.5% |
As the table outlines, Ndiaye and McNeil’s statistics are decent, although Harrison and Lindstrøm’s… not so much.
Neither of the latter duo have registered either a goal or an assist this season, albeit their expected assists figure of 2.2 and 1.9 respectively suggest some of the blame lies with Everton’s centre-forwards.
So, while Moyes does not have an eclectic set of wide players at his disposal, no Evertonian will be ruing the sale of another winger they recently had on their books.
Ex-Everton winger is now struggling in Saudi Arabia
As a teenager coming through the ranks at Birmingham City, Demarai Gray was highly-rated, with Oscar Ihua of Breaking the Lines labelling him a ‘wonderkid’, while Joel Goldman of FourFourTwo believed he had ‘a huge future’.
This hype earned him a £3.75m move to Leicester City in January 2016, with whom he remarkably won the Premier League four months later, scoring 13 goals in 169 appearances for the Foxes.
After five years in the East Midlands, he joined Bayer Leverkusen, scoring ten minutes into his Bundesliga debut against Stuttgart but generally making little impression at die Werkself, so returned to England six months later, signing for Everton under Rafa Benitez for a cut-price £1.7m, which former England midfielder Karen Carney told the Guardian she believed to be a bargain.
In 75 appearances for the Toffees, Gray scored 12 goals and provided six assists, thereby registering an unspectacular goal involvement every 447 minutes, but was a regular starter for Sean Dyche.
Well, that was until the summer of 2023, when Gray and Dyche’s relationship completely broke down, with the winger saying it was “difficult to play for someone who doesn’t show you respect as a person”.
He went ‘on strike’ and refused to train but, having failed to secure a move before the European window closed, Gray joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq for a reported fee of £8m.
Upon his arrival, his manager was Steven Gerrard, while his current teammates are a collection of ‘where are they now‘ stalwarts, namely Marek Rodák, Jack Hendry, Georginio Wijnaldum, Karl Toko Ekambi and Moussa Dembélé.
However, this move has not panned out as planned, with Gerrard having been sacked as manager in January, while Gray has scored just four goals in 37 appearances for the club, yet to get off the mark during this campaign.
Despite this, Gray has still been a regular at international level for Jamaica, scoring twice during the Reggae Boyz’s most recent fixture, a 4-2 defeat to USA in St. Louis last November, showing he still has talent, even if those in Dammam are yet to witness that on an even semi-regular basis.
Nevertheless, Everton will be delighted to have made 370% on Gray’s transfer fees, proving they were right to sell when they did.
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