Goodison View: How Nikica Jelavic rocked Everton with just one touch
Former Everton hitman Nikica Jelavic decided to hang up his boots on March 1, a little over seven years after leaving Goodison Park, and it’s had us reminiscing.
The Croatia international joined Everton from bankrupt Rangers in January 2014 in a cut-price deal, costing the Toffees just £5.5million.
This was prior to Farhad Moshiri’s purchase of the club, meaning Everton’s transfer budget was severely limited, putting pressure on the forward to perform from the off.
He certainly didn’t disappoint in that regard.
Jelavic would prove lethal in front of goal in his first six months at Everton, almost always requiring just a single touch to fire past whichever goalkeeper he happened across.
Just 26-years old at the time of signing for Everton, Jelavic would finish his first season in the Premier League as top goalscorer for the Toffees, scoring nine goals in 13 league games.
However his goalscoring record wasn’t as impressive as his reliance on a deadly first touch, with The Liverpool Echo reporting at the time (April 26, 2012) that Everton’s ice-man had taken just 47 touches to score 44 goals for both Rangers and the Blues since May 2011.
Even Romelu Lukaku, who became Everton’s all-time leading Premier League goalscorer with 68 strikes over four seasons, wasn’t as deadly with his first contact of the ball.
Unfortunately for both Jelavic and Everton, the striker saw his form significantly drop in his second season on Merseyside, scoring just seven goals, before scoring zero in nine league appearances in his third season.
Despite his drop in form however, Jelavic will always be remembered on Merseyside for those first six months that saw him excel in royal blue, and for that lethal first touch finishing ability.
In other Everton news, Carlo Ancelotti is hopeful that the double signing of Real Madrid duo Lucas Vasquez and Isco will convince James Rodriguez to remain an Everton player.