Everton did not want Isaac Price to seal exit this summer after transfer news
Former Everton talent Isaac Price has revealed that the Toffees didn’t want him to leave Goodison Park after completing his transfer to Belgian side Standard Liege.
The 19-year-old Northern Irish international has admitted that he wanted to take his first steps into first-team football, but having spent his entire youth career on Merseyside he felt that he would be more likely to get minutes in Belgium.
Everton had hoped to ensure that Price would remain at Goodison Park beyond the expiry of his contract this summer but were unable to convince him that his future remained in England.
Discussing his move in a press conference that has been transcribed by the Liverpool Echo on their Thursday live blog, (3 August, 15:00) Price said: “Everton didn’t want me to leave. They wanted me to sign a new contract but I was convinced of the idea of joining the Rouches and taking a step forward for my career.
“I know that many players have passed through the club before joining major leagues but my mind is at Standard where I want to do things correctly before seeing further.
“I’ve hardly ever played in the first team before, so I have to understand the game and adapt to it. I felt it was the right time to take a big step in my career.”
Use of youth
The nature of the recent situation at Goodison Park means that the Toffees have been unable to blood youth into their team as often as they, or the players, would have probably liked and that will likely mean young players will look elsewhere for first-team football.
Price is an impressive talent having already won two senior international caps at only 19 years old and would have likely been given opportunities in Sean Dyche’s side, had they not been fighting against relegation in the last few campaigns.
Last year he did manage to make a single appearance for Everton from the bench in the Premier League while also continuing to have an impact from the middle of the park in the Premier League 2, scoring and assisting three times in 24 matches.
If Price had stayed at Goodison Park this season, he would have likely not had much of an impact in the first-team, but it feels as though if he was at another Premier League club they would have sent him on loan to gain experience, rather than allowing him to leave on a free transfer. There are much bigger issues to be solved on Merseyside, but this feels like a missed opportunity.
In other Everton news, the Toffees are closing in on solving their striker problem as a deal is close for a Portuguese forward