Everton have made a name for themselves when it comes to disastrous transfers ever since Farhad Moshiri took over as the owner at the club, with over £500m spent on players and absolutely no return on investment when you consider that the Toffees find themselves in a relegation battle this season.
Although Moshiri will definitely have regrets on some of the players he has already spent millions on, there are opportunities missed to sign players who have gone on to have a fantastic career elsewhere, and one of the biggest howlers was not securing the signature of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Sam Allardyce told the talkSPORT Breakfast Show that he wanted to sign the former Arsenal goal machine back in 2018 when he was the manager at Goodison Park;
“Aubameyang was desperate to come to the Premier League and we didn’t really know if it was definitely a yes [to Everton] or not – but it was probably not.
“Whether that could have happened or not, we never got that far.
“It was always going to be too much money for January, because of what the club spent previous to me arriving.”
The striker, who scored 68 Premier League goals has been hailed a “genius” by Jose Mourinho, and eventually signed for the Gunners in a deal worth £56m from Borussia Dortmund. The rest was history as he became a Premier League golden boot and FA Cup winner during his time at the London club.
When you compare the Gabon born striker’s Premier League attacking statistics (via Premier League website) with current Toffees striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Aubameyang would have clearly been the better striking option for Everton, out-achieving the 26-year-old attacker’s Premier League career so far with two seasons less in the league.
Aubameyang’s superior attacking output could have potentially saved the Toffees from several campaigns of struggles, especially this season when you consider the situation the club has found themselves in.
It’s something that can definitely be partially blamed on the lack of goals and chances created in the attacking line so far with the side only scoring 29 times compared to the 47 strikes they have conceded already.
With reports of Calvert-Lewin potentially on the move this summer it could be an opportunity for Moshiri and Lampard to find their next Aubameyang who can offer a consistent output of goal involvements, and ultimately improve their chances of thriving in the top half of the table once again should they survive their relegation challenge in the remaining months of the season.
In other news: Forget DCL: Everton must keep “terrible” £110k-p/w “huge liability”, Lamps needs him
