New Bayern Munich star Joshua ZIrkzee has revealed just how close he came to joining Everton before starring for the German champions.
Zirkzee rose to prominence last month when he scored on his debut for Bayern against SC Freiburg and then bagged another in the 2-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg.
It was a quick rise to prominence for the 18-year-old, who joined the club in 2017 but has quickly risen from the second team to a substitute in the first-team in the last two months.
Things could have been very different for the young Dutchman, though, as he was once close to joining Everton.
Zirkzee was on trial with the Blues back in 2017, having impressed several Premier League sides with his goalscoring in Feyenoord’s youth system.
He subsequently agreed to a deal to join the Toffees in 2017, courtesy of then manager Ronald Koeman’s connections in Holland, and even played in a youth tournament for Everton that year.
However, he ended up at Bayern not long after but has revealed the move to Everton was very close to being a permanent one.
“Everton was a serious option for me,” he told Voetbal International.
“Ronald Koeman was the first team coach at the time, and I didn’t have a lot of strikers in front of me at the time.
“Romelu Lukaku left for Manchester United that summer and I got the feeling from Everton that there was a good chance I could move on there.
“When I was there, they immediately offered me a contract.”
Unfortunately for Everton, Bayern then happened.
