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‘I was told’…Everton rejected late Saudi approach for £20m player last month
Like most Premier League clubs, it was a quiet old window for Everton as they made do with what they’ve got for the rest of the season.
FFP problems and a points deduction, coupled with a run of dismal form lately, has left Sean Dyche’s side once again in trouble in terms of the relegation zone.
Of course, those FFP problems have hindered their January plans and Everton were among a cluster of clubs to do very little.
One plus point, however, was the Toffees managing to keep their star players like Amadou Onana and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
And according to journalist Lewis Steele, Everton actually had interest from Saudi Arabia in Doucoure but they turned it down.
Everton reject Saudi interest in Abdoulaye Doucoure
Speaking on the It’s , Steele, who is the Merseyside journalist for the Daily Mail. had the following to say.
“The Saudis, they came knocking slightly for Abdoulaye Doucoure. I was told it was never really a serious worry from Everton’s perspective but when the Saudis come knocking you feel if they say ‘here’s £50m’ then it’s always going to come back to bite them. Doucoure’s Everton’s best player I think. If they lost him then I think that would genuinely have tipped them over the edge,” Steele said.
A must keep
As Steele says in his spiel here, Abdoulaye Doucoure has been one of the better players for Everton this year in an otherwise poor season.
The £20m midfielder, lauded by Michael Owen as been ‘‘ at times, is integral to anything good Everton do and he’s been big in some crucial results.
Like Onana next to him, it’s simply imperative that Everton keep hold of Doucoure and they managed to do just that this time around.
However, with the summer likely to be busier and money still likely to be needed, interest in Doucoure is likely to come again.
Everton, then, will be praying they can avoid relegation.