England 3, Mexico 2. The Azteca Stadium. Finished at 4am UK time. An instant World Cup classic.
@BBCSport honouring the match with another tremendous montage. 😍
Everton contacted Unai Emery in the days after his sacking by Arsenal, leading to a meeting in London last week between Emery & #EFC majority investor Farhad Moshiri + chairman Bill Kenwright. No contact since but if the interest develops he would be keen: https://t.co/Mjc1u1Uvoi
Everton’s recruitment team were frequent visitors to Bramall Lane during the 2021-22 season as they courted Morgan Gibbs-White at Sheffield United.
Kevin Thelwell, then Everton’s director of football, would come close to bringing the midfielder to Goodison Park that summer, but the club could not move quickly enough due to their perilous financial situation — in 2022, they had shelved a move for Watford’s Joao Pedro due to regulatory concerns, despite considerable groundwork being done on a £22.5m package.
Nottingham Forest had already stolen a decisive march by the time they made an offer.
That was a blow to the club’s recruitment team, who saw an England international in waiting in Gibbs-White, but those trips to south Yorkshire would not be in vain.
Their interest was piqued in another Sheffield United player, Iliman Ndiaye, who remained on Everton’s radar until they eventually signed him from Marseille in the summer of 2024.
Ndiaye ticked several boxes. He stood out to scouts as an elite dribbler who could do unique things on the pitch, and his data output also reinforced his physical capabilities. Reports emphasised a gifted technician and a “street fighter” who would scrap for the cause.
The £15m fee for the 26-year-old looks a bargain now...
📝 @Paddy_Boyland
https://t.co/SlZM1TDWLF