Lyndon Lloyd 09/09/2024 10comments  |  Jump to last

Neal Maupay says that a meme he posted to Twitter on deadline day was an expression of his relief at securing a move away from Everton, two years after he was first signed under Frank Lampard.

The Frenchman was acquired from Brighton & Hove Albion as director of football, Kevin Thelwell, sought cover for the injured Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the summer of 2022.

He was regarded as an awkard fit in terms of replacing Calvert-Lewin but the feeling was that he might be able to offer something as a foil for the striker when the two were fit and, potentially, playing in the same side.

Maupay struggled to make any kind of impact at Goodison Park, however, and scored just one goal before eventually joining his former club, Brentord, on loan last season.

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The Bees didn't take up the option to sign him on a permanent basis during the most recent transfer window but Thelwell was able to negotiate a €500,000 loan move for him to Marseille, with the Ligue 1 agreeing to an obligation to buy him for €5m next year.

That gave Maupay the exit he was looking for, with few Evertonians lamenting his departure due to a number of irksome social media posts he has made over the past 12 months or so.

His reply to Fabriazio Romano's announcement on Twitter that the deal with Marseille was pending, featuring a scene from Shawshank Redemption, was his last before departing the Blues and he explained it in the media today:

"Supporters like to discuss, criticise, and celebrate and it doesn't bother me because I consider myself a normal person and, if everyone can tweet, I can do it too," Maupay said.

"I published a funny little video because my situation at Everton was known — I wanted to leave and the club didn't want to keep me. 

"So this little video was to say that I was relieved to leave the club."

Should Maupay perform well in Ligue 1, the eventual transfer fee could reach as high as €10m but Everton are, no doubt, satisfied at this juncture to have got an unwanted player off the books, with cash to come at the end of the season.

 

Reader Comments (10)

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Paul Kernot
1 Posted 09/09/2024 at 22:20:40
'Awkward fit' is extremely generous of you there Lyndon.
Michael Lynch
2 Posted 09/09/2024 at 22:51:35
He was probably the equal of Richarlison when it came to shithousery, but the equal of Rondon when it came to playing football.

File under "top ten worst signings for Everton".

Ben King
3 Posted 10/09/2024 at 00:13:54
Could have been decent alongside a target man or even in an AMF position. Alas we didn't play him to his strengths.

In addition, he was Sh1t for us. We've had an absolute terrible record signing strikers and Lukaku & Yakubu apart, no many have shone for long with us (we could be generous and count Andy Johnson, Luis Saha and perhaps DCL).

Goodison has become a grave yard for strikers and it's been so long since we've had one score 20 goals for 2 seasons in a row

Mark Taylor
4 Posted 10/09/2024 at 00:14:31
It wasn't the tweets, he was the slowest striker I've ever seen. You didn't need a camera to capture him in motion, there was time for an oil painting
Dale Self
5 Posted 10/09/2024 at 00:27:53
Well well well, will someone inform dwarf dude that it is over so save the drama. Snow White wouldn't have your ass. Grab a beer, do some self-counseling and do your next job. That is what was missing in your experience here and we are all soooooo sorry about that.
James Hughes
6 Posted 11/09/2024 at 08:04:48
Not sure where to put this but there a wonderful selection of Pienaar scoring great goals.
#Barclaysmen
so we go from a waste os space in Maupay to the sublime Stephen

Link

Mark Andrews
7 Posted 11/09/2024 at 19:06:20
Look, as a team, we're not very good…

But we weren't bad enough to play this sub-par striker.

Scott Hamilton
8 Posted 11/09/2024 at 20:00:07
I hope they've got a barn door for him to practice with.
Justin Doone
9 Posted 11/09/2024 at 20:59:10
A random thought popped into my head regarding awkward players. If he retired at the end of the season or went on strike, would we still be owed money?

With loan-to-buy deals becoming more common, I'm waiting for the next courtroom drama — Everton have had their fair share of positive and negative firsts.

Paul Ferry
10 Posted 12/09/2024 at 05:59:46
It's a fitting tribute to one-goal Maupay that so many ToffeeWebbers flocked on here to comment.

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