Everton and MLS side New York Red Bulls have reached an agreement for the transfer of Australian midfielder Tim Cahill with the Merseyside club confirming that the deal will be for a nominal fee.
Cahill, who still has two years to run on his Everton contract, is set to travel to the US in the next few days where he will agree personal terms and undergo a medical. But for a nominal fee, believed to be in the region of £1 million, Toffees fans would argue that they should be getting more for a player who has scored 68 goals in 278 appearances – 56 of these coming in the Premier League.
Since moving from Championship club Millwall in 2004, Cahill quickly become a mainstay in David Moyes’ side and has been regularly used as a striker during his time at the club, scoring the majority of his goals with his head.
Although Cahill last season endured a disappointing time at Goodison Park, he has more than established himself as one of the most prolific midfielders in Premier League history – since Cahill’s arrival at the club, only Frank Lampard, Christiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard have scored more goals from midfield.
In addition to his club record, Cahill, 32, has represented his country 55 times and in 2006 he became the first Australian to score at a World Cup, scoring two against Japan in a 3-1 win – in the same game, the midfielder also became the first Australian to be named Man of the Match at a World Cup. In total, Cahill has bagged an impressive 24 international goals and has been named both Oceania Footballer of the Year and Australian Professional Football Association Player of the Year in 2004 and 2009 respectively.
So why are Everton happy to let there man go on the cheap? The Socceroo’s £2.9 million-a-year salary which will be struck of Everton’s wage bill could go a long way to help finalise the return transfer of Steven Pienaar but surely there would be another Premier League outfit ready to pay more than £1 million for Cahill’s services – Queens Park Rangers have not been shy in this summer’s transfer window and have a certain amount of cash to splash; they will also be without former captain Joey Barton for the foreseeable so would have a space in midfield for the Aussie.
At the end of last season, Everton reluctantly accepted £10 million for Mikel Arteta, a player who had four years to run on his contract and who had scored half as many goals. Surely the logic here suggests that Cahill should be worth a minimum of £5 million – Everton valued him at £1.5 million when they signed him eight years ago, so after all he has achieved since then, how can he worth any less than that now?!
Transfer fee aside, does Tim Cahill have more to offer the Premier League?
image: © Nick Sarebi
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