Leicester City players were in demand in the 2016 summer transfer window and Everton were one of the clubs circling around their star players.
Leicester’s unprecedented 2025/16 campaign, led by Claudio Ranieri, saw the Foxes go from relegation favourites to Premier League champions.
Ranieri’s side was built on team spirit, cohesion and a sprinkle of quality around the pitch in the shape of Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and N’Golo Kante.
All three were subjected to widespread interest that summer but only Kante departed for Chelsea in a £32m deal.
Everton were showing a serious interest in another one of their key players but once Steve Walsh completed a switch from the King Power to Goodison Park, they were forced to end that pursuit due to an agreement between the two clubs.
Everton had to end pursuit of Kasper Schmeichel in 2016
Everton were in the market for a new number-one goalkeeper in 2016 and Leicester’s Kasper Schmeichel was identified by then-manager Ronald Koeman, according to the Guardian.
Koeman was unconvinced by Joel Robles and was eager to upgrade in that area ahead of his first season in charge at Goodison.
Everton were looking at doing a £17m deal for Schmeichel, however, their pursuit ended as soon as Steve Walsh joined from the Foxes that summer.
The two clubs had an agreement that Everton weren’t allowed to sign any Leicester players for a specified period of time.
Everton found long-term keeper in Jordan Pickford
Everton didn’t find their long-term number one that summer but they did manage to sign Jordan Pickford from Sunderland a year later.
The Toffees broke their club record transfer fee to sign Pickford, who has since established himself as one of the best shot-stoppers in the club’s history.
The now 30-year-old is a regular for England and has collected a whopping 73 caps, appearing at multiple World Cups and European championships.
So it all worked out for Everton in the end.
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