Former Everton midfielder Imam Jagne admits he terminated his contract at the Premier League outfit because he felt he was no longer ‘developing’ as a footballer on Merseyside, speaking to Fotbollskanalen.
A 2020 arrival from BK Hacken, 19-year-old Jagne certainly made an excellent first impression with the Toffees.
The Gambia-born Sweden youth star quickly became a regular for Everton’s U18s, earning the admiration of reserve team coach David Unsworth for his impressive mentality and eye-catching physical gifts.
“He’s going to be a great athlete,” Unsworth told the Liverpool Echo at the time. “He can handle the ball, he’s a great presser of the ball.
“I’d say, when he develops and matures, he will be more of a box-to-box midfielder. He’s got great energy and you don’t want to bog him down into a holding midfield role.”
But, like one Mohamed Ali Cho – who joined Real Sociedad for £12 million just two years after deciding against signing a new contract at Everton – Jagne soon came to the conclusion that staying on Merseyside would have been detrimental to his first-team prospects.
Why did Imam Jagne leave Everton and return to Sweden?
“I felt that I stopped developing,” explains Jagne, who terminated his contract with a year remaining. “I simply needed to come home and enjoy football again. When it gets to the point where it’s no longer fun, then there’s no point in continuing.
“I got quite a lot of playing time in the U18s. I played almost every game and it felt good. (But) I also feel that I need to take the step into senior football. I feel there is no point in staying (at Everton) if I can’t get it.
“(Leaving) was a joint decision. We negotiated a bit and, in the end, we agreed. It felt good for all parties. They were really kind and saw it from my perspective, which was that I wanted to develop and play senior football. They were very supportive.”
Jagne is now back in Sweden, training with BK Hacken’s first-team. Three years after making his senior bow for the Allsvenskan outfit, Jagne could soon be pulling on those yellow and black stripes once again.
“On the other hand, if you look at the positives, you get to learn a lot about yourself,” Jagne adds. “You learn to deal with adversity. I am grateful for that, because I am a much more mature person now than when I left Hacken, both in and outside of football.
“I am very grateful to Everton for that.”
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