Of the numerous disappointing signings of Farhad Moshiri’s short reign at Everton, Davy Klaassen ranks among the highest.
The Dutchman arrived at Goodison Park in a £24.3m deal from Ajax in 2017 to much fanfare, having played a vital role in the Eredivisie’s side’s run to the Europa League final.
However, things turned sour at Goodison Park as the Blues’ haphazard transfer strategy left the midfielder fighting for a place with Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurdsson.
That was a battle he lost, starting three Premier League games all year and struggling to impress Ronald Koeman or his replacement, Sam Allardyce.
It ultimately saw him depart the club last summer after just one year, and reflecting on the move, Klaassen says things never got going.
“Actually everything went wrong from the beginning,” he told Spox.
“A lot of things happened. I just didn’t fit. I still had a nice year there, got to know nice people, but football wise, of course it wasn’t a happy year.”
Last summer saw a complete refresh by Everton as they hired Marco Silva and brought in Marcel Brands as Director of Football to reshape the club’s transfer strategy.
The pair set about clearing out much of the squad they had inherited from the previous regime, with Klaassen on the list of casualties.
And he admits he had hoped he could turn things around at the club, but Everton’s new regime made it clear that wouldn’t be happening.
“I actually had hope. A new coach came in the summer break,” he added, “and I thought maybe I would get a chance, but after a few days, I was clearly told, ‘We have too many players, and I trust others’.
“That was a good thing. At least then I knew where I stood and could think about the next step.”
