Everton will sign Alex Iwobi for a fee around £35 million, according to the BBC’s David Ornstein. The club have until 7pm to finalise the deal. The player leaves Arsenal after playing at the club since 2004.
Everton Complete Transfer of Alex Iwobi
Arsenal Departure
Iwobi has made 100 Premier League appearances for Arsenal. This includes 11 goals and 16 assists. This is not a great return for the forward. Furthermore, in 36 appearances for Nigeria, he has only managed six goals. Whilst he is still only 23, it is hard to excuse this return which simply will not provide enough firepower to chase after the top-four.
Some of the Gunners fans may scrape the smallest of traces of sentimentality from their eyes, but most will not be surprised that his time has come to an end. Whilst he is an example of a true ‘Arsenal’ player in that he graduated from the academy, this alone does not make a player great.
Unfortunately, there is every need to trim a squad. Arsenal must ensure that other young players can come up through the ranks, such as Reiss Nelson. Furthermore, with the signing of Nicolas Pepe, this further limits space. Thus, for a player of Iwobi’s inconsistency, it was only a matter of time before the club needed to recalibrate the squad.
Everton Add to Squad
Whilst all that has been said about Iwobi seems to point to a poor signing, it is not yet the case for Everton. They fork out a sizeable sum for the player, but they could reap the rewards. They already have invested in their attacking talents with Moise Kean, with other talents at the club such as Theo Walcott and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
However, Iwobi provides another option and further capabilities for Everton. He has decent pace, dribbling and attacking intent that can be useful especially from the bench. Indeed, he has Premier League experience and is certainly no untested player.
There is still the issue of his inconsistency of course. If he can secure more game time at Everton it may help him to develop further. The change of scene at Everton may help him to find a purple patch. After all, he will have to gel with the new squad and ingratiate himself with the new fans. But, there is definitely some talent to cultivate and nurture. His thumping effort against Chelsea in the Europa League final is a just a glimpse of what this player can do.
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