Kevin Thelwell shares why Everton turned down chance to sign Conor Coady for cut-price fee
Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell has confirmed the club turned down the chance to sign Conor Coady for a cut-price fee in the summer.
Coady arrived at Goodison Park in August 2022 on a loan deal that included the option for Everton to purchase the centre-back permanently.
However, the Toffees did not take up the option to sign the England international in the summer and he instead joined Leicester City.
Speaking on the Training Ground Guru Podcast [10 November, 33m 48s], Thelwell explained that decision was down to the club not wanting to block Jarrad Branthwaite’s path to the first team.
“If we go back in time, Yerry Mina hadn’t played a lot, but he finished the season strongly and played a big part in helping us stay up. We could have easily added another year on his contract,” Thelwell said.
“Coady came in the building and was a fantastic professional. It would have been very easy for us to sign Conor permanently for a low price, but we decided against that on the back of holding the door open for Jarrad.”
Good choice
Coady started 23 of Everton’s 38 Premier League matches last season and it looked like he would stay on for at least another year.
As reported by the Liverpool Echo [11 July], the Toffees could have landed the defender permanently for just £4.5million in the summer.
The 30-year-old was snapped up by Leicester not long after for an initial £7.5m [Sky Sports, 1 July].
On that basis, it seems strange on the face of it that Everton did not take advantage of being able to land an experienced player for so cheap.
However, Branthwaite has been a revelation this season since usurping Michael Keane to partner James Tarkowski.
Keane, while he has hit critics, is a capable back-up option to fill in should either Branthwaite or Keane get injured.
It must be remembered that, while £4.5m is not that big a sum in terms of a transfer fee, Coady also would have been on fairly large wages.
This was a gamble of sorts by Thelwell, but one that has ultimately paid off.
In other Everton news, journalist Mark Douglas has shared the latest on the takeover situation at Goodison Park.