Former Everton striker Andy Gray is ‘glad’ the Premier League outfit didn’t offer Jesse Lingard a career lifeline before the free-agent joined Nottingham Forest this week, speaking to talkSPORT (22 July, 10.30am).
From Solomon Rondon to Josh King, Fabian Delph to Ashley Williams; Everton have been burned before when signing vastly-experienced footballers with a proven track record in the top-flight of English football.
And while Lingard’s outstanding spell at West Ham during the second half of 2020/21 remains fresh in the memory, that short-lived purple match feels like something of an outlier on the England international’s otherwise hit-and-miss CV.
“I’m glad we didn’t get him if I’m honest. I wouldn’t have considered that,” says Gray, who was part of the Everton side who won England’s top flight in 1985. “That wouldn’t have filled me full of hope if we’d gotten Jesse.
“Jesse hasn’t done enough for me over the years to suggest that you might want to pay him £200,000-a-week.”
Nottingham Forest sign Jesse Lingard
That £200,000-a-week figure has been widely circulated over the course of the last week. An ambitious Nottingham Forest outfit are reportedly breaking the bank to bring the former Manchester United forward to the City Ground on a one-year deal.
According to The Athletic, however, Lingard will actually earn far less than that in garibaldi red. Nonetheless, the fact that a newly-promoted Forest side are in a position to make an England international their eleventh arrival of the summer – when Everton have signed just one – remains a concern to Gray and the Everton fanbase as a whole.
“We have to cut our cloth,” Gray says, pointing to those well-publicised Financial Fair Play concerns. “So this is where the expertise of the director of football, the manager, the coaches, has to be tested.
“We’ve got (James) Tarkowski in. He’s a good player. He’s proven. An international. I think he is a good lad. But that’s not gonna be enough for Everton.
“The fans need something to inspire them right now. Two weeks to go and Evertonians are flat. Particularly with what’s gone on on the (pre-season) tour.
“It’s not filled anyone with any (reason) to be excited about the start of the season. James is not gonna excite people.”
Everton lost 4-0 to MLS outfit Minnesota United this week. Hardly ideal preparation for a top-flight campaign.
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