Former Premier League midfielder Jamie O’Hara believes Arsenal got the deal of a lifetime when they sold Nigerian international Alex Iwobi to Everton for an initial fee of £28m. PUNCH Extra Sports reports.
O’Hara is of the opinion that the Toffees overpaid well in excess of Iwobi’s true value to bring him to the Merseyside club.
Iwobi is one of the few players who really did everything he could to keep Frank Lampard in the manager’s job and if Everton’s end-of-season awards were to take place six months ahead of schedule, for whatever reason , the former Gunners player would sweep the bets away. .
Lampard’s decision to install Iwobi as a box-to-box central midfielder was one of his greatest triumphs at Goodison Park; a man who spent most of his time away from him under Rafa Benítez and Carlo Ancelotti playing the best football of his Everton career in a new role.
Nonetheless, the £28m initial fee Everton paid Arsenal on the last day of the 2019 summer transfer window is another example of this now cash-strapped club paying well above the odds for a talented footballer. but relatively limited.
“Iwobi; Arsenal must have been laughing! says O’Hara, a former Portsmouth, Tottenham and Wolves player.
Iwobi has played all but 20 minutes of Everton’s 2022/23 Premier League campaign; scoring once and setting up seven more in all competitions.
PUNCH Extra Sports had previously reported that talks on a new five-year deal began last November.
“He’s one of the best midfielders in the Premier League right now,” the now-deceased Lampard told the Liverpool Echo last year.
“My job is to support him, give him confidence, put him in the right structure, in the right team. And the rest is up to him. I have great respect for him and I love working with him.”
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without the prior written permission of PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]
