Latest news with #Everton
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wilfried Zaha makes Everton transfer admission after failed £50m bid and club statement
Wilfried Zaha said he was open to joining Everton when the club moved for him back in 2019. Then at Crystal Palace, the winger was the subject of a disputed and protracted series of negotiations that saw the Blues publicly deny some of the reports surrounding their interest. Advertisement They did acknowledge a bid for the former Manchester United player - and he has now revealed the interest went both ways. Then 26, Zaha's future was up in the air six summers ago. Arsenal went into the close season favourites to sign the Ivory Coast international but ended up moving for Lille attacker Nicolas Pepe. READ MORE: Seamus Coleman signs new Everton contract as David Moyes explains key role READ MORE: Jarrad Branthwaite Everton contract talks advance as club close on top priority Instead it was Everton that ended up attempting to prise him away from Selhurst Park and the club saw a bid of around £50m turned down. Advertisement When reports then surfaced about a second bid of cash and players, the Blues went public to try and close them down, issuing a statement that said: "Everton Football Club categorically denies that a bid has been submitted to Crystal Palace for Wilfried Zaha that included an increased sum plus Cenk Tosun and James McCarthy. Everton and Crystal Palace have a very good relationship. "A bid was made over the weekend which was turned down. Both clubs agreed that was the end of the matter." Zaha, who is now 32 and playing in the US with Charlotte having been loaned there by Galatasaray, was asked about the saga while being interviewed on the Real Spill podcast, explaining he was interested in a move to join Marco Silva at Goodison Park. He said: 'They were in for me and I was open to it, I was open to the move but things didn't work out."
BreakingNews.ie
9 hours ago
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Everton captain Coleman signs one-year contact extension
Everton captain Seamus Coleman has signed a one-year contract extension, saying on Friday that the chance to lead the club into their new stadium was a key reason to continue. The 36-year-old Republic of Ireland international signed the deal just three days before his previous contract expired. He was forced off in the first half of Everton's final game at Goodison Park last month with a thigh injury but is expected to be fit in time for next season. Advertisement "Thanks to the hard work of many people, we've been able to get into our magnificent new stadium and pave the way for a brighter future under ambitious new owners (Friedkin Group), which I want to be part of," Coleman said in a statement. Coleman joined the Merseyside club from Sligo Rovers in 2009 during David Moyes' first spell as manager. Moyes joined for a second spell in January, guiding Everton to a 13th-place finish. "In David Moyes, we have the perfect manager to lead us into a new era. He showed his abilities once again with the way he had us playing after returning last season. "As the man who brought me to Everton, I can't speak highly enough of him. He gets this football club, the standards required every day, and what it means to play for Everton." Advertisement Coleman holds the club record for most Premier League appearances (369) and is joint 12th on Everton's all-time list with 428 matches in all competitions, just five behind Dixie Dean and Leon Osman. "This could be a period of real change at the Club and I want somebody who can help deliver the messages of what it means to be an Everton footballer. Seamus has always done that and I know he will continue to do so as we move into a new era," Moyes said. Everton begin their league campaign away at Leeds United on August 18th.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liverpool line up £70m COLOSSUS to replace Ibrahima Konate
Liverpool looking at Guehi and Branthwaite The imminent loss of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen in a £30m deal already leaves the club light on numbers - necessitating a new signing sooner rather than later. Advertisement While Marc Guehi has been the player most strongly linked, there is another defender closer to home who fits the bill. The Reds reportedly have their eye on centre-backs aged 24 or under - and given they are losing Quansah - one with homegrown status would help. That's why Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite is so intriguing. Moving from the Bramley Moore Dock Stadium to Anfield wouldn't be without its controversy - but surely a sizeable bid from the Reds would tempt their city neighbours into selling. Everton plot Branthwaite talks A new report in Caught Offside now claims that Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham AND Liverpool have all got their eye on Branthwaite - who is valued at around the £70m mark. Advertisement As such, the Toffees are planning contract talks with their star defender - who is currently tied to the club until 2027. But should no new deal be agreed for the 23-year-old, then Liverpool would be in a good position to pounce. 'No concrete talks have taken place,' the report continues. 'But the admiration for Branthwaite is there, so it could be one to watch.' © IMAGO Could Liverpool use Doak to sign Branthwaite? David Moyes' side are reported to admire Ben Doak and by adding the Scotland winger to any potential deal, Liverpool could significantly reduce the upfront costs. With Quansah being sold, Konate seemingly heading out the door and Van Dijk contracted until 2027 - Liverpool will soon need to conduct a serious transfer overhaul at centre-back. Maybe Guehi and fellow England international Branthwaite will be the ones leading the club into the new era.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liverpool plan to steal COMPLETE €25m midfielder from Everton
Liverpool admire Merlin Rohl And one name now on the list who could play in various midfield roles and provide extra cover is Merlin Rohl. The Germany under-21 international is currently starring at the UEFA Euro Under-21 Championships - where he will come up against three Liverpool players in this weekend's final. Advertisement The 22-year-old plays his club football for Freiburg in the Bundesliga - although he struggled with a couple of injuries last season. Despite those setbacks, Rohl is seen as a future star - capable of playing in the offensive midfield positions as well as doing the dirty work in the middle. Rohl deal will break €25m record Described by former Ingolstadt coach Thomas Oral as a 'complete' midfielder, Rohl has been compared to Bayern Munich's Leon Goretzka and has been attracting plenty of attention from the Premier League. In a recent report in Sport Bild, Everton were named as suitors, and the paper has also detailed Liverpool's interest. Advertisement Crystal Palace and Newcastle have all got Rohl on the radar but he would surely be most intrigued by a move to the Premier League champions if the opportunity arose. He extended his contract back in September 2024 - meaning his club side are reasonably well protected from a transfer fee perspective. Kevin Schade represents the Bundesliga club's biggest-ever sale - with Brentford paying around €25m for the German international - and Bild suggests it would take a similar bid to move Rohl. Everton are reported to have made two bids already with an intention to return to the table this summer. If Liverpool are going to get involved in the bidding, they will have to strike soon.
BBC News
12 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
The making of the £60K bargain who became an Everton legend
"Sixty grand, sixty grand Seamus Coleman, playing the Everton way."It's a song that has echoed through the terraces at Goodison Park for 16 428 matches in blue, Seamus Coleman's famous £60,000 transfer fee from Sligo Rovers works out at about £140 a one of the biggest bargains in Premier League history, but it wasn't always a straightforward success story. The chant will move with Everton to the club's new Hill Dickinson Stadium after the left-back signed a fresh one-year deal to stay with the club for a 17th street football, proving people wrong and a ham and cheese jambon, this is how Coleman wrote his name into Everton folklore. School and football - that was life Killybegs is a small fishing town in County Donegal nestled along the picturesque, rural Irish coastline - dubbed Wild Atlantic Way - with a population of about 1,250 people. It's also where a young Seamus Coleman developed his skills on the streets of his Dorrian, who would help shape Coleman's football journey, says it is a place where "everyone knows everybody"."Early life for a lot of the young lads, including Seamus, would have been school and football. They played everywhere."Killybegs was dominated by two sports - football, or soccer as it's often known in the north west, and Gaelic football, which is Ireland's traditional national sport. Coleman, like the majority of youngsters, played both. There were transferable skills, with youngsters learning the sports in robust fashion, with matches taking place between various estates in the town. "You didn't get beat in those, it was like going to war with your neighbours," Dorrian added."That is where he learned his traits. Playing against older players, getting kicked. It built hunger and the drive to do well." Coleman started playing football for St Catherine's, just around the corner from home, and Dorrian, who was the club's first-team manager, remembers he was "small, tenacious and had a big heart".His size counted against him, and led to him being left out of county and school squads. But his determination was something else. "At an early age, he had potential but he hadn't any more than any of the rest of them," Dorrian added."But he had that bit about him. Not the technical side so much, but the mentality and that was bred from where he is from."You don't want to get beaten by anyone. If it's instilled in you from a young age, with a bit of respect and a bit of manners, it helps guide you through your career - whatever path it takes you." Was it fate? To make it in any professional sport, a slice of luck - in addition to work ethic and natural ability - is often was no different, and there were three key cards that fell his pure chance, in early 2006 Sligo Rovers manager Sean Connor was dating a Killybegs native and, after a discussion over a beer, a friendly was arranged with St Catherine' was up against experienced and prolific forwards Paul McTiernan and Sean Flannery, but neither got a sniff against the raw but energetic youngster. Connor had seen enough. He called Dorrian, Coleman, his father and the St Catherine's chairman into the referee's changing room and a deal was agreed to bring the young defender to the club for their top-flight return. Coleman had also been called into Donegal's minor team, a massive honour for any underage Gaelic footballer with hopes of making it had a decision to make - Dorrian said "everyone was wanting a piece of him" and he was "under a lot of pressure" to select Gaelic football - which is an amateur sport."[But] once he heard full-time football and getting a few quid - not a whole lot - he jumped at the chance," said Dorrian. Pro Evo and a second chance When Coleman joined the full-time ranks in Sligo he was housed with fellow defenders Gavin Peers and Keith Foy. Peers recalls his first impressions of Coleman were "quiet and shy" off the pitch, but "raw, determined and competitive" on it."The three of us were all around the same age and got on really well," said Peers, who added he "done most of the cooking"."Seamus went home quite a lot, his girlfriend, now wife, was in Donegal and he was a homebird - he still goes back home in his time off now."Football, on the pitch or on screen, was never far from his thoughts, however. "But when he was here the evenings were all about [video game] Pro Evolution," said Peers. "We were all competitive in that house, it got a bit tense in the games, but he wasn't very good at it."That was the one thing I was able to beat him at, and he's definitely better at the real thing." After settling in at Sligo, Coleman's fortunes were about to change when Connor left to join Bohemians before the end of the season, and Rob McDonald was introduced in his place."Rob just didn't take to him," Dorrian said. "He told him he was surplus to requirements." Then came the second stroke of luck. McDonald left his role in pre-season and former Wigan and Burnley midfielder Paul Cook was brought in as his was a match made in heaven. "Paul seen he had that drive and determination and related to that," said Dorrian, who had joined the youth set-up at the Showgrounds. "I heard Paul say it at the time, he could see him charging up and down the pitch, tackling, and if a player around him wasn't on it, he was talking to them and trying to bring them with him."If Rob stayed then God knows what would have happened. It was that bit of luck when Paul came in and Seamus just propelled from there." The jambon that changed everything It was a day of training and Coleman and Dorrian were making the trip from Killybegs to Sligo. As they would often do, they stopped on the way for a break on the 95km journey. Coleman ordered his usual bottle of water and a ham and cheese jambon. It was like any other day - until the phone rang. It was Sligo's chairman. A bid had been accepted by Everton. "When the phone rang you thought it was a bit of a joke," recalled Dorrian. "I think he was just sitting there smiling - is this true? Is this going to happen?"It was very surreal for me. I'm driving a car, sitting beside a young fella who was going to be going across to play for Everton. "By the time we got down to the club everyone knew and was shaking his hand. It was a brilliant time for everyone."Coleman had been on trial at Celtic, and Birmingham City had shown interest, but it was Everton who made the first move with the now famous £60,000 course, it has turned into much more than that with various clauses but it is still a drop in the ocean compared to many modern transfers. But how it came about was another case of being in the right place at the right of Cook's signings was midfielder Sean Doherty, whose dad just happened to be head scout for David Moyes and Everton."Everything just seemed to fall the right way for him," added Dorrian."He's worked hard for it and the rest is history." Baptism of fire Coleman moved to Everton in January 2009 and made his debut nine months later against Benfica in the Europa League, taking on the likes of Angel di Maria, Javier Saviola and Oscar was a baptism of fire in a 5-0 defeat, but the player Everton fans would come to love was on show again a few days teenager was introduced as a sub for his Premier League debut against Tottenham as Everton rescued a 2-2 notching up his first assist, Coleman was named man of the match."I was sitting there thinking, 'three years ago that young lad was playing for me', and now I was watching him changing the game on 'Super Sunday' on the TV," said Dorrian."Back then, if you were to tell me where he is now - I would have said no, and that's with no disrespect to him. He'd tell you that himself, but it's brilliant for him and a great story."Peers remains friends with Coleman and says he is still the same humble person from Donegal, just like when they met all those years ago."I like to have a bit of banter with him now and call him 'Big Time' and say 'you've changed'. "But the truth is he hasn't changed. I don't think his family or friends would let him - I wouldn't anyway." A future in the dugout? Jump forward 400-odd appearances, Coleman is now in the dying embers of his career but his place as an Everton legend is wasn't always smooth sailing, and a leg break while playing for the Republic of Ireland, who he had captained at Euro 2016 the previous year, threatened his like when he had been written off many times before, he bounced back again. He was made Everton captain in 2019 and even though injuries have limited his appearances in recent years, including another serious lay-off in 2023, his impact remains as strong as is his standing at the club, Coleman, along with Leighton Baines, was called on to the sidelines in the club's hour of need when Sean Dyche left the club before their FA Cup tie with Peterborough United in believes Coleman will "probably" end up as a coach but feels his future lies in management. "You can even see when he's not playing with Everton or the Republic of Ireland, he galvanises everyone around him. "That mentality comes from within, his family and where he's from."Coleman's story is one of resilience, and making the most of the opportunities that fall your way."When you're 17 or 18 and playing in a first team in Killybegs, nobody would see you as a captain of Everton or Ireland," said Peers, who added he wouldn't be surprised if he went back to playing Gaelic football when he retires."It's a mad story but he deserves his success."
