For a football club who tend to throw cash around like a particularly sweet-toothed kid in a sweet shop, Everton also appear strangely risk averse at times.
As former Toffees scout Carlo Jacoumuzzi explains, Everton missed out on the opportunity to sign the ‘best defender in the world’. They had concerns about whether now-Napoli colossus Kim Min Jae could adapt to life in Europe.
The Merseysiders also turned their noses up at Bruno Guimaraes when he was still back home in Brazil. Ditto now-Real Madrid ace Eder Militao and £26 million Europa League winner Diego Carlos.
If only Everton had shown the same hair-trigger response when it came to bidding for Guimaraes and Kim as they did when splurging colossal sums on Cenk Tosun, Yannick Bolasie and co.
Arda Guler, meanwhile, could soon be spoken about in similarly melancholy tones at Goodison Park. Tipped to become a ‘world star’ by none other than Mesut Ozil; the Fenerbahce wonderkid was recommended to Everton back in 2021.
We’ll let Tosun – the club’s former Turkey international centre-forward – explain exactly why one of European football’s most exciting teenage midfielders did not end up following in his footsteps on the blue side of Stanley Park.
“Everton asked me,” Tosun explains. “I mentioned Arda from Fenerbahce (back in 2021). They looked but did not make a move because he was under 18.”
Everton may regret not signing Arsenal target Arda Guler
Guler has been labelled the ‘Turkish Messi’ by some. And while it seems every nation on planet earth has their own, bargain basement version of the Barcelona legend, Guler’s wonderful left foot and defence-splitting penchant is certainly reminiscent of a naughties Messi. All acceleration and flowing locks.
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Just to rub salt into those wounds, Guler could soon bring his unique brand of string-pulling to the Premier League. A la Guimaraes at Newcastle United.
Fenerbahce value their number ten at around £17 million (Turkish Football).
A release clause in his contract, however, means Arsenal can snap up Guler for as little as £4 million. The Gunners may, however, face competition from Paris Saint-Germain. PSG held talks with the youngster’s camp in each of the last two transfer windows (FootMercato).
Either way, Guler looks certain to be representing a major European powerhouse sooner rather than later.
Much of the criticism aimed at Everton’s recruitment department often focuses on those they did sign; the Walcotts, the Tosuns, the Gbamins, the Andre Gomes.
But while the Toffees have landed their fair share of duds in the Farhad Moshiri era, they also missed out on a handful of players who, these days, would stroll into Sean Dyche’s XI without breaking sweat.
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