Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ROD’S GIFT
Toffees confirm their superstar James was a FREE transfer
WORLD CUP legend James Rodriguez was snapped up by Everton on a free transfer, the club’s director of football Marcel Brands has finally revealed.
But Brands has warned Toffees fans there won’t be another window like last summer, when the 29-year-old Colombian superstar was joined by Brazil’s Allan (circle top) and Abdoulaye Doucoure (bottom).
Instead, Brands confirmed there will be no new signings this month as the club’s focus shifts to offloading players.
That is because the Premier League arms race saw no easing even during the pandemic, with the average net spend per top-flight club on transfers increasing from £30million in 2019, to almost £43m last summer.
Speaking to Everton’s shareholders at their virtual
AGM, he said that meant “the most difficult and weirdest transfer window ever”, because other leagues cut their spending, meaning there was no market to raise funds through selling.
“We are still working to offload some players for new challenges in their careers, and we don’t expect to sign
new players in this window,” he explained. “It was one of the most difficult and weirdest transfer windows ever, the pandemic was clearly involved in this transfer window.
“The money spent on incoming transfers dropped to 70 per cent in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and also in the Championship in England. “During this window we spent a little over £60m and saw 15 players leave who (only) brought in £6.5m, which brings our net spend to £54m.”
But Brands did reveal James came on a free from Real Madrid, even if the lack of a price tag was reflected in his wage demands.
“In total we signed six new players, one on a free transfer – James Rodriguez,” he added.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti said: “We are in a position to fight for the European positions. This is a strong motivation for every one of us – to bring this club to where it was under Howard Kendall.’’