Everton had a significant transfer window in the summer of 2022 and signed six players on permanent deals, and two on loan.
The Toffees marquee signing that summer was Amadou Onana, who cost £33m from Lille, beating East London outfit West Ham United to his signature.
The other permanent signings included some crucial players still at the club today. One of those was Idrissa Gueye, who returned from Paris Saint-Germain, James Garner from Manchester United and Burnley pair Dwight McNeil and James Tarkowski, with the latter joining on a free transfer.
Whilst all of those permanent signings were successful to some degree, there was one player who joined the Toffees that year who never really settled. That man was Neal Maupay.
Maupay’s Everton career
French striker Maupay certainly had an indifferent time of things at Goodison Park. They bought him late on in the 2022 summer window, moving to the Toffees for £15m from Brighton and Hove Albion.
His Everton career got off to a strong start after he scored in his second appearance for the club, a well-taken striker against West Ham United in front of the Gwladys Street End.
It seemed like Maupay and Everton could be a match made in heaven based on that goal, but sadly that was as good as it got for the Frenchman on Merseyside.
He played 32 games for the club in total, with his goal against the Hammers his only one in that famous Blue shirt. He did manage to register two assists, both in the Carabao Cup. One of those came in his last game before he moved to former club Brentford on a season-long loan.
It was a solid return to the Gtech Community Stadium, with the 28-year-old scoring eight goals and getting three assists in 31 games in all competitions. He earned a move back to France as a result, with Olympique Marseille signing him on loan with an obligation to buy in 2025.
Everton fans will no doubt be frustrated that things did not work out with Maupay at Goodison Park. However, they may be even more disappointed to hear that they could have signed one of Europe’s most exciting strikers instead, Goncalo Ramos.
One that got away
The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.
When Everton wanted to sign Goncalo Ramos
Now plying his trade at PSG after a sizeable £67m transfer, Everton were looking at signing Ramos before the end of the 2022 window. According to reports, the Merseysiders were one of a number of teams looking at snapping him up for a potential fee of around £30m.
Had they brought him in, they would have added a striker with excellent pedigree to their squad. Ramos had a superb record for Benfica, with 106 games under his belt, and 41 goals to his name in that time.
After staying at the Portuguese outfit in 2022/23, he then proceeded to score 19 goals in 30 games in the top flight of Portugal.
2019/20
1
3
2
0
2020/21
12
380
4
0
2021/22
46
2449
8
4
2023/24
47
3478
27
8
After an impressive hat-trick at the 2022 World Cup, Ramos earned his big move in the summer of 2023. He signed for the French giants on a loan deal initially in a fee that is over double what he would have cost Everton.
Described as “outrageous” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, the striker is a superb penalty box striker and possesses excellent movement. He has scored 14 goals in 41 games in Paris, although is yet to get off the mark this term due to injury.
Everton fans will no doubt be disappointed to miss out on Ramos. Not only would they have signed a superb striker instead of bringing in Maupay, but they would likely have made a healthy profit, judging by the fee PSG paid for the striker last summer.
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