What else to talk about today but the extraordinary story of the 20-year-old Daniel Gosling, formerly of Everton, who took on his employers and won. The versatile midfielder, who can also play at right-back, has managed to embarrass the Toffees by walking away for free after they failed to offer him a contract on paper, meaning they will lose out on a transfer fee of up to £4m. The player was expected to sign a new £15,000-per-week deal, but chairman Bill Kenwright’s staff neglected to make the offer official. As he is under 23 years old, Gosling would still have fetched a transfer fee at a tribunal if he moved to another Premier League club, despite being out of contract.
Having joined Everton in 2008 as a 17-year-old, Gosling’s short Everton career was reasonably eventful, scoring a
Gosling looks perfectly happy at Everton here
dramatic extra-time winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup in 2009, and he also found the net to help his side overcome Manchester United last season. He missed the end of the last campaign with a cruciate knee ligament injury sustained in a league game, and is expected to miss the beginning of the new season with the same injury. West Ham and Newcastle are among the teams rumoured to be taking up the option on signing Gosling for free.
Although it is both amusing and heartening to know that even multi-million pound businesses like Premier League football clubs are capable of suffering from the spectacular consequences of human error, there is something slightly unedifying about Gosling’s conduct. If he had wanted to leave Everton, there is no indication he would have been denied the chance to do so this summer. As a free agent, Gosling will now be able to demand a high signing on fee when he does join a club, while his stricken former club Plymouth miss out on up to £1m from the 25% sell-on clause they are believed to have negotiated during the initial transfer. Everton continued to pay Gosling’s wages through his injury, for which they also provided physiotherapy and medical support. But does anyone owe anyone else in the world of Premier League football? Perhaps not, though there’s a good argument to be had with Gosling on that subject.
Fantastic to see a player who was dubbed ‘a legend’ by Everton fans, merely for scoring against Liverpool in dramatic fashion, leave the lesser team on Merseyside in such ridiculous circumstances.
Great, I never knew this, thanks.
this post is very usefull thx!