Alex Iwobi has made an intriguing admission regarding his exit from Everton.
Iwobi signed for Everton from Arsenal in 2019 for a fee in the region of £34 million – and there was much excitment about his arrival, if a little sckepticism about the fee.
Iwobi had played 149 times for Arsenal, and had shown flashes of his quality of the Gunners. But it was always felt that he needed a move away from the Emirates to become realise his potential.
So Everton successfully signed him, with Iwobi joining on Marco Silva’s watch.
Unfortunately, the Nigeria international proved to be one of many failed signings of the Farhad Moshiri reign.
Iwobi made 140 appearances for the Toffees, and scored just nine goals and made 15 assists. He was sold to Fulham in the summer of 2023 – and the player recently shed some light on the move, which Silva was a driving force behind.
Marco Silva asked Alex Iwobi about his situation after Everton lost to Fulham in 2022/23
Despite his struggles at Goodison Park, Iwobi clearly still made an impression on the man who brought him to the club Silva.
Iwobi has spoken about how his move from Goodison to Fulham was facilitated, and it turns out Silva put the wheels in motion while Iwobi was still an Everton player.
He said in the Fulham: “Funnily enough, he spoke to me because I was at Everton and we played against Fulham and we lost, when I was at Everton, we lost one-nil. And it was like on my last year of my contract, he wanted to know my situation and I told him that it was my last year of my contract.
“So is he doing this post-game? Is this at the stadium? Is this one of the on-the-pitch moments that the camera picks up on?” The host asked.
Iwobi replied: “No, it was not on the pitch, because there’s a lot of good professional lip-readers that are able to let you sense it like this. No, it was after the game, before I was going back home, he literally stopped me and asked my situation. And he didn’t know that Everton were willing to, not really let me go, but obviously it was my last year of my contract.
“And were you in talks with Everton at that point?” said the host.
“Yeah, I was in talks with them, yeah. And then he said I was the sort of player that we would like to have at the club. Of course, your price tag is a bit higher, so we have to see what we can do.
“Then obviously Mitrovic left and I became available for him. But yeah, he’s always told me we admire the way you’re able to create chances and your final pass is in the box. Like you’re always able to pick a pass in the box.”
Iwobi is thriving for Fulham this season
Although Sean Dyche admitted he did not want to sell Alex Iwob, many Everton fans were not too fussed when he made his move to Fulham.
But some are now slightly uncomfortable with how he’s fared at Craven Cottage since leaving, having already racked up almost as many goal contributions as he got at Everton in far fewer appearances.
This term he is playing particularly well, having made 10 goal contributions so far – the first time he’s achieved that tally in a single season in his career.
Gary Lineker recently hailed Iwobi for he season he’s currently having.
And pundit and ex-Arsenal man Perry Groves has also been impressed with Iwobi’s improvements.
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox
