Imam Jagne 68

Swedish protégé Imam Jagne was one of the first young players to be snapped up by Everton after their ban on such youth transfers expired in 2020 and the Blues completed a £1.3m deal with BK Häcken for the talented teenager.  He signed a 3-year contract and was eligible to play once his minor application was approved.

Born in the Gambia before his family moved to Sweden when he was 5, Jagnge was described as a "superkid" who can operate across midfield. The then 17-year-old went straight into David Unsworth's Under-23s side.

“Here at Everton, the environment is so good. They have let me know, if I need anything, they are absolutely there for me," said Jagne at the time. “With how they’ve looked after me, the Club has made my family comfortable back home. It is such a caring club, with very humble people.

“I feel like the coaches believe in me so much. Unsy, Franny and John are brilliant. If there is anything I don’t understand, I know I can go to them directly and ask them. I just want to learn as much as I can from them and my teammates. I am more than convinced I made the right decision to come to Everton.”

Indeed early on, David Unsworth was full of expectation for him:

"I'd seen enough to form an opinion of him but obviously the recruitment department do the bulk of the work. He's a great guy. He's a great learner. He's very coachable and I'm looking forward to working with him for the next couple of years.

"I'd say when he develops and matures he will be more of a box-to-box midfielder. He's got great energy and you don't want to bog him down into a holding midfield role.

"I think he can play in all of the midfield roles centrally; in a two, he can hold, and he can play wide of the three. There's loads and loads of development in there and he's certainly one for the future."

However, things did not develop along the expected upward trajectory – far from it as he was sitting on the subs bench and unable to impress at all in short stints at the end of games.

Jagne was eventually moved from the U23 squad to join his contemporaries in the Under-18 squad at the turn of 2021, an indication that the initial assessment that he was ready for the oldest development squad had been premature.    

After getting 5 starts at that level, but only completing one game without being substituted, he was further relegated to the U18s subs bench for a spell in what turned out to be quite a traumatic first season with the Everton Academy. He got to play more games in his second season but they would all be at U18 level, with no risk taken to try him again in the U23s.

In the third and final year of his contract there was no sign of him playing any games for the Academy. In late October 2022, it was finally reported that he had terminated his 3-year contract by mutual agreement with the club over the summer of 2022, choosing to return to Sweden in search of more regular football.

“I felt that I stopped developing,” Jagne expained. “I simply needed to come home and enjoy football again. When it gets to the point where it’s no longer fun, then there’s no point in continuing. 

“I got quite a lot of playing time in the U18s. I played almost every game and it felt good. (But) I also feel that I need to take the step into senior football. I feel there is no point in staying (at Everton) if I can’t get it.  

“(Leaving) was a joint decision. We negotiated a bit and, in the end, we agreed. It felt good for all parties. They were really kind and saw it from my perspective, which was that I wanted to develop and play senior football. They were very supportive.”

At just 19, he returned to Hecken Gothenburg to train with their first team.

FactFile