Henry Onyekuru has left Everton for Monaco without making a Premier League appearance under Marco Silva.
Joseph Yobo believes Everton have sold a ‘fantastic’ striker with Henry Onyekuru sealing a £12.5 million move to Monaco on Monday, speaking to Goal.
Despite never playing a single game for The Toffees in two years, Everton managed to make a £4.5 million profit when they sold the young Nigerian to the 2017 Ligue 1 champions, as reported by the Mail.
But, although the deal makes perfect sense from a business point of view, there is a real frustration with how this situation has played out for those with more of an interest on the pitch than spreadsheets and net spend.
Onyekuru shone during a loan spell at Galatasaray last season, scoring 16 goals to fire the Istanbul giants to the Super Lig title. However, thanks to work permit problems, Everton had little choice but to cash in on a player they bought from KAS Eupen two years ago.
And Yobo, a former Everton defender, cannot help but wonder what might have been.
“He is a fantastic talent and I would have loved to see his deal [with Everton] go through but work permit restricted him from playing in the Premier League,” Yobo told Goal.
“But he has shown what he’s got at Galatasaray, very exciting to watch and he can score goals as well. I was happy seeing him play for Nigeria national team but he didn’t get that chance to play for Everton because he didn’t play more international games to give him the right.
“For me as an Evertonian, I feel he is a good prospect and would’ve been a great talent for Everton.”
Fortunately for the Toffees, there is no shortage of promising wide attackers at Goodison Park right now with Richarlison, Bernard and Theo Walcott all competing for a place in Marco Silva’s starting XI. £27 million Moise Kean, meanwhile, could thrive on the left while using his pace and dribbling skills to drift into a central position
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