Good article in The Athletic by Paddy Borland re our summer business…

Personal feel is that it leans a little towards his club sources’ view on things but several good insights. One bit that did jump out was this para re the club accepting that the Richarlison deal was “far above market value” but accepted as a “precondition for Spurs’ Ndiaye move.” I think we all know that the club NEEDED to make a sale but the idea that we’d pay well above Richarlison’s price to make it happen shows we were most definitely not in the driving seat (and is an odd approach to building squad value): “With City at one stage prioritising a move for Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo, Everton agreed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur that would have seen Richarlison move the other way for £35million in a related but separate transaction. There was an acceptance on Merseyside that the fee was far above the Brazil forward’s actual market value, but this was viewed as a pre-condition for Spurs’ Ndiaye move.” https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7561775/2026/09/03/inside-everton-transfer-window-balogun-ndiaye/?source=athletic_user_shared_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta