Ex-Arsenal and Liverpool target seals shock move after Everton 'nightmare'

Tom Weber

7 Nov 2023 20:21 GMT
3 min read

Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Everton — © ProShots

After months of free agency, Jean-Philippe Gbamin has found a new club - in the French second division.

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Once among Europe's most sought-after defensive midfielders while at Mainz in the Bundesliga, the Ivorian decided to take his first steps in the Premier League with Everton and it quickly turned into a nightmare.

Injuries and mismanagement limited him to just eight appearances in four years and he ultimately gave up another year - and £5 million - of his contract to get out of Goodison Park.

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What followed, the 28-year-old perhaps didn't expect: he couldn't find a club until November, and he has signed for Ligue 2 side USL Dunkerque. It's a massive fall from grace for a once-highly-rated player, who was courted by the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool before his Everton nightmare.

“Arsenal and Tottenham wanted Jean-Philippe in 2019,” Gbamin's agent, Bernard Collignon, told The Guardian last month. “Jürgen Klopp...had wanted JP before signing Fabinho. But we chose Everton because if you arrive straight away at a big club in England, it’s very difficult to make it."

Un international ivoirien à Dunkerque ! 🇨🇮

𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗻-𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲 𝗚𝗯𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻 est Maritime jusque la fin de saison. ✍️

#TeamUSLD 🔵⚪️
— USL DUNKERQUE 🐬 (@usldunkerque) November 7, 2023

Everton struggles

Collignon also shed light on why Gbamin struggled in England: “When JP signed at Everton in 2019, he came straight from AFCON...He had to rest. But after four days training with Everton, JP played a match," he said.

"He had not done a pre-season. The next game, he played 90 minutes! This is not just an Everton problem though, this is an English problem – clubs don’t know how to manage a player regarding injuries."

“It was not easy to cancel the contract with Everton...We found the agreement of cancelling the contract 20 minutes before the deadline...Once the deadline is passed, you cannot cancel the contract in the same way."

"Everyone is aware that JP is available. But all the clubs have budgets and most clubs use all their budget in the window," Collignon explained when asked why his client was still without a club in October.

"JP is an international player; he is not affordable for all of the clubs. Also, in France, clubs have to wait until mid-October to receive their share of the TV rights. After that, maybe they can sign a player. It’s like musical chairs.”