The stories of the transfer window focused on who hasn’t left for a new club. After Chelsea held onto Callum Hudson-Odoi, 18, and Mesut Ozil, 30, inexplicably remained at Arsenal rather than join PSG, the French club found themselves on the receiving end from Everton.
The Merseyside club rejected three bids from the Ligue Un leaders for 29-year-old Idrissa Gueye claims the Liverpool Echo. It wasn’t the highest number of bids knocked back this window; Sunderland had SIX bids for Wigan striker Will Grigg batted away before the Latics finally lost caved in.
Throughout the speculation of recent weeks, Everton held firm and refused to countenance a sale of a key midfield player. Backed by Farhad Moshiri’s money, the Toffees have no need to sell and refused a final offer of €30m in the dying embers of the transfer window.
It’s understood Gueye is upset at being denied the opportunity to move across the English Channel at this late stage of his career. Speculation immediately began over the impact this would have on his performances in coming weeks.
Former Everton boss Sam Allardyce wasted no time in slating his former employers for not taking the near-£20m profit on the player and using it sign a striker. He told Sky’s Deadline Day programme that the club had never satisfactorily replaced Romelu Lukaku when he was sold to Manchester United.
