Broadhead leaves Everton for Ipswich

09/01/2023 28comments  |  Jump to last

Nathan Broadhead has secured a permanent move away from Everton, completing a move to Ipswich Town for a reported £1.5m that could end up being as high as £4m if appearance-related add-ons are triggered.

The 24-year-old was recalled from his season-long loan at Wigan Athletic last week as the club prepared to sell him on and the deal with the East Anglian side was confirmed today.

Broadhead, who has one senior appearance to his name for the Toffees, was on the fringes of contention at first-team level last season under Rafael Benitez but eventually went on loan to the Stadium of Light.

He scored 10 in 20 for Sunderland last season and then signed a two-year contract extension at Everton, presumably to ensure that the Blues received more than just a development fee if they sold him on.

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Broadhead played 22 league games for Wigan this season and scored five goals and that convinced Ipswich are to lodge a bid to sign the former Wales U21 international after 15 years at Everton.

 

 

Reader Comments (28)

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Dave Abrahams
1 Posted 06/01/2023 at 17:07:45
I think he is being brought back to be sold, even if it is for a meagre fee.
Kieran Kinsella
2 Posted 06/01/2023 at 17:29:36
Dave,

I'm not sure what wages he's on but at 24 it's been obvious for years he's never going to be our first-team striker.

Even if he's on 㾶k a week, a transfer fee of ٟ million means we have lost money on this fellow by “developing” him hoping to get a fee versus just cutting him loose at 19 or 20.

Tony Abrahams
3 Posted 06/01/2023 at 17:44:11
The way the things are, I'd definitely have him on our bench. His scoring record isn't bad, considering he's been playing for a team at the bottom of the league, and I don't think you would have any problems getting him to work very hard for the blue shirt, so it might just be worth us keeping him.

I know this sounds desperate, but we are in a very desperate position, and struggle to get 5 subs on, even when most of our players are struggling. Broadhead will definitely put a shift in, and his work rate might help us with our intensity, if he comes on to play in a five-man midfield.

James Flynn
4 Posted 06/01/2023 at 19:16:48
Good for him. At League One level, he'll do well.

For sure he has some skills, just never a Premier League level athlete.

Good luck.

Dave Abrahams
5 Posted 06/01/2023 at 19:22:40
Kieran (2),

I haven't got a clue what wages Broadhead is on but I'd be very surprised if he was on half of what you suggest.

With the state of our present strikers, assuming we are not signing another one this month, I'd be inclined to keep him on ‘til the summer.

Dupont Koo
6 Posted 07/01/2023 at 01:08:56
Ipswich are chasing promotion desperately and, as of the moment I'm writing this post, they are 3rd in League One, 2 points off the automatic promotion spot.

If Broadhead is on 㾶k a week, it's not affordable for any League One Club, even a desperate one like Ipswich. Also, he is already playing Championship football on his current contract, why would he take a pay-cut and drop down a level with a chance of promotion that might not materialise?

I hope the sale would go through, as his contract extension was a rescue attempt by Thelwell to try and extract as much return as possible: A sum as close to ٠ Million with future add-ons would be a heck of a better return than what we got on Joe Williams, whom we sold to Wigan for a meager ٟ Million & Wigan flipped him to Bristol City for ٠.5 Million 12 months later.

Derek Knox
7 Posted 07/01/2023 at 02:07:03
Dave @ 1,

This is what pisses me off with Everton. We have some really good lads, maybe just not quite good enough for regular first-team duty. Everton generally let them go for peanuts... make them pay as much as we can get, but I like that lad Nathan Broadhead, he has always scored goals everywhere he goes.

Of course we have an embarrassment of goal scorers in our set up, don't we?

Strewth!

Mike Allen
8 Posted 07/01/2023 at 09:48:56
Simms and Broadhead should be ahead of Maupay. Why spend 㾸M on him when he is only ever going to be a bit-player – not even that if we bring someone in.
James Flynn
9 Posted 07/01/2023 at 18:12:53
He's 25 in April and hasn't done a thing to merit a 1st-Team look.

If he's on more than 3K per week, it would be a surprise.

Phil Smith
10 Posted 07/01/2023 at 18:23:57
Maupay is a good quality Championship player but most of our better U21s we've let go seem to be that type of calibre (Williams, Connolly, Bowler, Dowell, Robinson and Lundstrum etc.) as well, so why not save our money buying equal quality and really develop our own players? Tom Davies had 1 good season and we've clung to him when we probably should have let him go by now. He'd be decent in the Championship though and is fine for a back-up, but that is what Maupay was meant to be.

Our club has been so badly run since Moyes left. I've started to come around to bringing him back for a few years just to right the ship.

Broadhead is a good player, a good Championship player, but if these players never get a chance at the very top you never know if they will make the next big step up a develop to their full potential.

Barry Cowling
11 Posted 08/01/2023 at 14:12:08
Good luck to the lad, we clearly are not going to play him and at 24 he should be pushing for the first team at least, he hasnt looked premier league to me but he has hardly had any opportunity here, and the chance to go to Ipswich and play in front of 30,000 and help them get into the championship must be very tempting. They are a well run club now with new american owners who also own other sports outfits and have a clear strategy to succeed and the right people to know how to get it, something we most definately don't unfortunately
Peter Hodgson
12 Posted 09/01/2023 at 13:17:50
I agree with the sentiment stated in all of those comments.

We never seem to give our 'potential' players a proper chance in the first team to see if they might be capable of hacking it with a step up and then we moan that none of our Academy players make it, so the Academy is a waste of time, money and effort. One young prospect at a time is not going to make any difference to the balance and productiveness of the whole team even if you smuggled in a complete duffer to this lot.

Wrong again I'm afraid. It is a management problem once more. Nobody is prepared to take an extended chance on a young prospect to see if he can hack it and save the club a potential fortune.

Michael Boardman
13 Posted 09/01/2023 at 19:19:31
Erm… Sunderland. Apparently one of their strikers has moved on.

If he had an LFC training top, Bournemouth or Sheff Utd would be paying 㾻M right now.

Neil Lawson
14 Posted 09/01/2023 at 21:45:46
Intrigued by the references to a potential salary with us of 㾶k per week. That's half a million per year. That just can not be correct.

If it were, and I have no clue, presumably a number of the fringe players are on a similar contract. Tot that up and it's an awful lot of money for players who are considered "not good enough". Even at ٠k per week, the maths are crazy. The money paid for and paid to players is utterly obscene.

Perhaps they could use their spare time after training to work as part-time carers and nurses. Actually, not a great idea as that requires skill, commitment and dedication.

Paul Birmingham
15 Posted 09/01/2023 at 22:56:33
Good luck to the lad, hopefully he will find stability and being wanted will help develop his football career.

All-in-all, it raises more questions about the Everton youth system, transfer policy... everything. It makes you wonder, What's it all about?

The Board, and its operating policy in matters football on and off the park need to address this amongst the whole running of EFC. What's their aim, what's their criteria for success, business plan in Opex, Capex, youth development, overseas recruitment, etc.

Faulty Towers on steroids..

Seeing Everton on its knees, year-in & year-out, is not acceptable and, in the last few years being on permanent relegation standby is not good enough.

Hope eternal.

Kieran Kinsella
16 Posted 09/01/2023 at 23:00:32
Neil,

After Dave's remark, I found two sites offering conflicting info on his salary. One said ٤,200 a week, the other said ٠,500. No idea if either is accurate. If the latter, then we made a bit of money on him presumably over time.

James Flynn
17 Posted 09/01/2023 at 23:10:26
He should do well at League One level. He was seeing game-time at Wigan so should be able to hit the ground running at Ipswich.

Nothing against Nathan, but hopefully he's the last of our youth players who aren't good enough for the First Team, yet are kept around until 24-25 years old.

Ed Prytherch
18 Posted 09/01/2023 at 00:00:08
I watched the Wigan - Blackburn game earlier in the season and Broadhead was as good as Brereton Diaz on the day. He is a good acquisition for Ipswich.
Dupont Koo
19 Posted 10/01/2023 at 00:25:19
I'm satisfied with the deal: Getting his wages off the book (we never know how much of his wages were covered by us during his various loans. IMHO & sadly, a large portion) and getting a decent fee to help with P&S rules nominally.

It's a testament of Ipswich's American owners to commit a relatively large amount for a League One Team to chase Promotion.

Alan J Thompson
20 Posted 10/01/2023 at 05:53:13
He's 24 and perhaps some sort of assessment of his playing ability should have been made years ago but it appears not to or came to the conclusion that it might be worth giving him more time; it matters little now in this case.

Similarly, what he was paid previously appears in the accounts for those years while this year's accounts have just had ٟ.5M added to the income and the P&S rules are either over a 3-year accounting period or perhaps some allowance is made if it can be shown they are moving in the right direction.

I think that the accounts over a 3-year period must not show a loss over 𧴡M or sanctions may be imposed.

Robert Tressell
21 Posted 10/01/2023 at 09:05:55
I'm not really sure why he wasn't released years ago.

He's done nothing to merit the sort of fee the RS got for Brewster and Solanke, both of whom had much better international credentials and had hit good form at Swansea and Vitesse respectively at young ages

In fact the mooted fee is much more than that paid by Fiorentina for Bobby Duncan a few years ago.

The RS do sell youth well but it's usually off the back of good form on loan at a decent level and strong international performances.

Broadhead has never been in that league.

Jonathan Tasker
22 Posted 10/01/2023 at 10:18:00
As part of my ground hopping initiative I actually saw him play live for Burton v Rotherham in September 2019. He showed nothing that day but I think he's improved since.
Can only surmise the club are desperate for cash.
Good luck to the lad
Derek Knox
23 Posted 10/01/2023 at 10:19:42
Robert, always respect what you say, but I still think in these days of ridiculous and inflated Transfer Fees, £1.5M is a scant amount for a proven striker albeit at a slightly lower lever than the Premiership. I think he has even had a game or two, (not 100% sure) for the first team and didn't disgrace himself.

I was thinking when I read the Headline (somewhere) that we had received a 7 figure fee for Nathan, I expected around £5/6/7M, not £1.5M, but I suppose it all counts into the Dingle's Pot !

Mark Rankin
25 Posted 10/01/2023 at 16:06:21
I don't think there is a lot to beat the club up with here just a bit of sadness that another young player won't make the grade at Everton. When you are after premier league quality players it is invariably going to be the case.
I think there are some good points about the club making these decisions earlier (and make a bit more cash in the process e.g. moving Tom Davies on 2 years ago) but Thelwell seems to be doing this.
Wish NB all the best and he's one of the lucky ones to be getting a career in football.
Geoff Lambert
26 Posted 10/01/2023 at 18:25:47
How much did we pay for Demarai Gray??
Justin Doone
27 Posted 10/01/2023 at 23:15:50
It's far too risky to judge and chuck good young players at 21 / 22 years old in case they develop further at 23 / 24. Especially for a skint club that flirts within relegation.

The Premier league standard of player has improved a lot over the last 10 years hence you see very few teenagers becoming regularly Premier league players at any club.

Most of the best young u21 players appear to have come from other club academy's or were already at 1 of the 3 better teams, Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool.

The chances of bringing through youth players is getting slimmer. But they all do it, just like millions play the lottery, in the hope of the next BIG thing.

Good luck, he's a decent player and a few million now with a possibility of a few more sounds a little low, but we have very little to bargain with.

Out of interest, I'd estimate he was on at least at £5k per week.

Derek Knox
28 Posted 11/01/2023 at 01:41:41
Geoff @ 26, to the best of my knowledge, and if reports are to be believed also, it was between ٟ.5M and ٟ.7M. I remember when he played for Birmingham City, as a young and upcoming winger, and I thought at the time he would be well worth a punt at ٥M which was the asking price.

Of course EFC dithered and dallied and he went to Leicester. History has dictated that it didn't work out for him there, but I believe with the right tutelage, he still has the ability to be a major player both at Everton and in the Premiership as a whole.

I still have fingers crossed that he becomes more consistent and the others round him too, because he does try these moves where no-one else seems to be going along with him. If we get him to be more consistent and played in the right position, we may just have an absolute asset on our hands.

Jack Convery
29 Posted 11/01/2023 at 15:17:10
Good luck to him.

Money can be used towards a loan fee. I doubt we'll buy or loan anyone in until the last minute as it saves on wages; otherwise, what is the excuse?

Hoping for some goodish times when the new players arrive.


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