Everton turned down the chance to sign a 100-club Premier League striker in 2010 due to his £10m valuation.
David Moyes had to operate on a really tight budget during his first stint as Everton manager, but he managed to make it work.
Moyes had the Toffees consistently challenging for Europe, with fourth place his highest finish in the 2004/05 season.
The Scotsman was forced to be really creative in the transfer market, with shrewd additions like Steven Pienaar, Mikel Arteta and Seamus Coleman, who cost just £60,000.
But, that limited budget did cost them at times, as they refused to outlay £10m on a top-class Premier League centre-forward.
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Everton refused to pay £10m to sign Peter Crouch in 2010
During the summer of 2010, after an eighth-place finish in the Premier League, Moyes was keen to sign a new striker.
According to talkSPORT, the Toffees were keen on signing then-Tottenham Hotspur talisman Peter Crouch.
Crouch had just come off the back of a 13-goal season with the North Londoners, laying on an impressive nine assists, too.
However, when Spurs quoted them £10m, Moyes and his chiefs pulled the plug on the deal as they weren’t willing to commit that amount of funds.
Crouch ended up registering a whopping 22 goal involvements the following season, including six in the Champions League.
He retired in 2019 with 106 Premier League goals, so it certainly would’ve been a good addition for Everton at the time.
Who did Everton sign in 2010?
Everton ended up signing two strikers that summer, both on cheap deals.
In fact, they got Jermaine Beckford on a free transfer from Leeds United after his sensational campaign in League One, netting 31 goals.
Moyes also brought in Magaye Gueye from Strasbourg in a deal worth just under £1m, but neither of them really worked out.
Beckford was the more successful recruit as he scored 10 goals in 40 appearances, whilst Gueye only managed to net three times.
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