While this summer was a busy one of incomings for Everton, getting rid of numerous players they didn’t want was also on the agenda.
Kevin Mirallas was one of those they were trying to move on, with the Belgian on high wages but not part of Marco Silva’s or Everton’s plans.
At first, it appeared a move wouldn’t happen, though, with time slowly running and no viable exits from Goodison Park emerging.
One finally appeared towards the end of the European transfer window as Mirallas secured a return to Belgium with Antwerp.
Everton waived a transfer fee to allow the 31-year-old to return to his homeland; such was their determination to get him out of the club.
“Antwerp have been following me since May,” he told RTBF in Belgium.
“I also talked to Bruges and Anderlecht, but Everton was asking for a lot of money to free me from my last year of contract.
“Lucien D’Onofrio waited until the very last day for the price to drop, but before that, he called me every day, and I really felt a real desire to get me in. So he got me free.”
Since his move to Antwerp, the forward has played just twice, helping out most recently in a 2-1 win over Anderlecht.
