Everton are interested in signing Hamza Choudhury to improve Frank Lampard’s squad this summer, which would make the midfielder the Toffees’ fifth transfer from Leicester City yet.
Choudhury would also become the Goodison Park hierarchy’s first arrival from the Foxes in 33 years with a summer switch. Any move would additionally be the first deal between the two clubs in 11 years, with Leicester last raiding Everton’s ranks for their fifth deal in 2011.
- Crystal Palace’s 22/23 XI with £20M West Ham target leading 4 new signings
- Jude Bellingham and Celtic ace lead Birmingham XI if they ket their top stars
Lampard is open to taking Choudhury to Merseyside this summer as he bids to improve his engine room options. The Blues suffered a host of injuries to some of their key midfielders last season, including Abdoulaye Doucoure, Andre Gomes, Tom Davies and Fabian Delph.
Everton battling Nottingham Forest interest for Leicester midfielder Choudhury
The Mirror (19/6, p78) report Everton are interested in signing Choudhury, but they could face competition from newly-promoted Nottingham Forest to buy the Leicester midfielder.
Lampard is considering the 24-year-old as an option to strengthen the defensive side of his engine room during the off-season. The Toffees conceded 66 goals across their 38 Premier League games last season, for the 16th-best record on route to finishing in only 16th-place.
Steve Cooper also admires what Choudhury could offer at the City Ground after he guided Nottingham Forest to promotion via the Championship play-offs. The East Midlands outfit are now eager to sign players with top-flight experience as they prepare for the new term.
Leicester will let Choudhury leave the King Power Stadium this summer with their academy graduate out of contract next year. The former England U21 international also struggled to retain a prominent role in Brendan Rodgers’ plans last season with just six league matches.
Everton and Nottingham Forest could now offer Choudhury a chance to reignite his career away from Leicester amid their interest. As well as only playing six Premier League games last term, the Loughborough native made just six appearances across all cup competitions.
So, with Lampard showing interest in Choudhury improving the defensive side of Everton’s midfield, here are a some of the previous nine transfers between the Blues and Leicester…
Choudhury could follow Newell from Leicester to Everton amid Lampard’s interest
Mike Newell is the last Leicester player to join Everton for Choudhury to now follow amid Lampard’s interest. The Toffees bought the striker from the Foxes in 1989 at 24-years-old for £1.1m, two years after Leicester paid Luton £350k, which was their record at the time.
A transfer to Goodison was a homecoming of sorts for Newell, who was born in Liverpool. But the former England U21 international also only spent two seasons with Everton before moving to Blackburn Rovers in 1991, where he won the Premier League title in 1994/95.
Beckford last Everton player to join Leicester with 2011 departure
Jermaine Beckford, on the other hand, is the last Everton player to join Leicester after his £4m transfer in 2011. The forward spent just a year at Goodison before moving to the King Power, having joined in 2010 after Leeds United agreed to cancel his contract a year early.
The Toffees unleashed Beckford in 40 games across all competitions for 10 goals and five assists during his time on Merseyside. His last goal was also the winning effort at home to Chelsea on the final day of 2010/11, before hitting 15 and creating six in 49 for the Foxes.
Choudhury would hope to have Everton spell as strong as Lineker
Choudhury would hope to have a spell with Everton as strong as Gary Lineker, who spent the 1985/86 campaign on Merseyside. The Toffees signed the forward from the Foxes for £800k after helping his hometown club to two promotions and hitting 29 goals in ‘84/85.
Lineker would only spend a season at Everton before joining Barcelona for £2.2m after the 1986 World Cup, where he was the top-scorer with six goals. The agile poacher also scored 38 goals in all competitions over his sole campaign at Goodison as the league’s top-scorer.
Leicester launched Everton raid to sign Yakubu on loan in 2011
Seven months before Leicester raided Everton for Beckford in 2011, the Foxes launched a winter pursuit to sign Yakubu Aiyegbeni on loan. The 57-cap Nigeria star had struggled for regular minutes at Goodison that term amid just a goal in 14 league games, starting seven.
Yakubu went on to hit 11 goals over 20 Championship games with Leicester after stepping down from the Premier League. His form with the Foxes then led to a move to Blackburn in the summer, bringing an end to his four years at Everton which returned 107 appearances.
Wilson featured in 1989 FA Cup final after leaving Leicester for Everton
Everton signed Ian Wilson from Leicester in 1987 on the back of winning what remains the Toffees’ last top-flight title. The midfielder had spent the past eight years at the Foxes and played over 300 games, but enjoyed far less on Merseyside before joining Besiktas in 1989.
Wilson did play for Everton in the 1989 FA Cup final against Liverpool before reuniting with his former Leicester manager Gordon Milne in Turkey. But the Scot was unable to stop the Reds’ 3-2 win after extra-time, with Ian Rush scoring twice around Stuart McCall’s double.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
