Everton have missed out on Abdul Fatawu. Ipswich Town have verbally agreed a £20m deal for the Leicester winger, with a medical expected next week and the move set to be wrapped up before Gary O’Neil’s side fly out for their pre-season camp in Spain.
Everton’s interest was genuine. They were tracking Fatawu at the same £20m valuation Ipswich have now agreed, and reports last week — sourced to a single Turkish outlet, so worth treating with some caution — claimed personal terms had already been struck with the player.
If that was ever true, it makes this harder to explain, not easier. A club supposedly ahead in talks has ended up watching a Championship-promoted side complete the deal first.
West Ham and Beşiktaş were also linked with Fatawu, but neither club actually got the deal done. Ipswich did, and quickly — Fatawu joins a summer that has already brought in Chuba Akpom from Ajax and Emerson from Toulouse, evidence of a club moving with purpose in the market.
Moyes has spoken about wanting Everton to, at least, match what Bournemouth and Brentford have built.
Well, losing out on a £20m winger to a newly-promoted side isn’t the way to start, and Evertonians have every right to be concerned about what it says regarding the club’s pulling power and decisiveness in this window.
