Everton turn down £1.5m bid for Southampton-bound Thierry Small
Everton turned down a £1.5million bid for left-back Thierry Small before his move to Southampton, according to Sky Sports journalist Ben Ransom.
The 17-year-old has officially joined Southampton and now a tribunal will decide a fee for his services.
It’s understood that he snubbed a chance to play for Chelsea or Arsenal in order to move to St. Mary’s.
Via his personal Twitter account, Ransom wrote, “Everton’s youngest-ever player Thierry Small to join Southampton.
“I’m told he’s agreed a three-year deal having turned down interest from Arsenal and Chelsea among others.
“As it stands the fee for the 17-year-old will be decided by a tribunal after EFC turned down offer of £1.5million.”
Need good money
Small was good enough to make his Everton debut at the age of 16 so selling him for such a paltry sum does not make any sense.
We would’ve liked to keep him on at the club, but he wasn’t particularly keen on extending his stay on Merseyside.
According to The Athletic, Small decided to cut ties with the club and cancel his two-year scholarship to force a move away from Goodison Park.
He did not return to pre-season training either so his intentions of leaving were pretty clear from the start.
The only way to rationalise his decision to move to Southampton is that he could be integrated with the first-team squad this season.
Everton, Chelsea and Arsenal are all bigger clubs but would not be able to give him playing time.
While we wish Small the best of luck, but his exit has left a sour taste in the mouths of many Evertonians.
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