Chelsea wanted to sell their £45m player to Everton far more than Tottenham back in 2023

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Everton’s lack of financial power has been well-documented over the last few years.

After all, they have been swiftly forced into the sales of some of their most prized assets, as Alex Iwobi, Anthony Gordon and Richarlison have all departed in recent years.

And yet, they remain hamstrung, staring down the barrel of two PSR breaches, the first of which is expected to be concluded sometime soon after a lengthy appeal process.

Despite the clear hurdles in the way of Sean Dyche and Kevin Thelwell, there have still been concerted efforts to bolster the squad despite their restrictions.

One well-documented and hugely ambitious bid they did make was to sign Conor Gallagher.

Did Everton nearly sign Conor Gallagher?

Having just offloaded Gordon for a mouth-watering £45m, everyone wondered how Everton might reinvest the pure profit they had just gained from the sale of an academy product.

Given it was a deal made late in January 2023 though, they were short on time.

Whether it was a last-minute panic attempt or not, reports did emerge late on that the Toffees were trying to pry Conor Gallagher from Chelsea for the exact fee they had just received, £45m.

Well, The Telegraph have now reported that such a deal was touted yet again, as they write: ‘Chelsea opened the door for Gallagher to move to Everton in a deal worth £45 million just over a year ago, but the player was not interested in swapping Stamford Bridge for Goodison Park.

‘West Ham United made a similar verbal offer to Everton’s last summer, but Gallagher was reluctant to move to the London Stadium, while Tottenham’s interest was firmed up too close to the end of the summer window.

‘It is understood that while Gallagher was believed to have been made available to the likes of West Ham, Brighton and Fulham last summer, the club were more reluctant to sell him to the likes of Spurs and Liverpool.’

Conor Gallagher would be perfect for Sean Dyche

Although this now seems like a distant memory, it cannot be denied just how good Gallagher would be under Dyche.

After all, he offers that perfect link between a double pivot and the striker, capable of making late runs into the box to score as well as create.

His brace just last night proved that, with two one-touch finishes in areas where Everton usually have no-one if Abdoulaye Doucoure is absent.

With two goals and four assists to his name this campaign, the Englishman is averaging 1.3 key passes, 1.3 shots and 6.3 ball recoveries per game in the Premier League, via Sofascore.

For comparison, Dyche’s star man is also managing 1.3 key passes, 1.6 shots and 4.9 ball recoveries per game, as if to emphasise their similarities.

At just 24 years old and a homegrown talent, it is a shame that there is no chance the Toffees will be able to scrape together the funds to make this a reality.