Everton call on Sacha Boey transfer hits Bayern Munich hard as director speaks out

Everton's search for a new right-back could have ended a lot differently amid a new update shared on Sacha Boey.

The Toffees, after months of searching, finally landed on Ainsley Maitland-Niles to plug the troublesome gap on deadline day.

Everton paid below £5million for Maitland-Niles, making it a good piece of business, but that does not tell the whole story.

Fans were hoping for a much better option in that area, while events later on deadline day completely overshadowed any signings that were made.

Boey emerged as a target for Everton earlier in the window, with Bayern chief Max Eberl admitting the defender's future lied away from Bavaria.

And it turns out Everton came close to signing the 25-year-old from the European giants.

How close were Everton to signing Sacha Boey?

Everton supporters were excited by the links to Boey - not just because it was an actual right-back, but because of the stature of club he was at.

It appears Boey was there for the taking, too, according to CF Bayern Insider.

Christian Falk reports that Everton, Fulham and Hamburg were all interested in the former France Under-20s international.

It is said that "the most concrete interest came from Everton", who were "really close" to signing Boey.

Everton instead pivoted to Maitland-Niles on deadline day, but the exact reason why is unknown. Some will cynically say it was to save costs.

As for Bayern, they took the news "hard" as they were hoping to offload Boey this summer.

He could still join a team in Turkey, Greece or Saudi, but it certainly will not be Everton.

What has Bayern chief Christoph Freund said about Boey?

Christoph Freund was asked specifically about Boey's future at a press conference on Friday.

He told reporters: "The probability is now greater that he'll stay here. He's always behaved in impeccable fashion.

"The plan was different, but this can happen in football. When all transfer windows are closed and he's still here, he'll remain a player in our squad.”

Had things gone differently, Boey would be preparing to face Manchester United as an Everton player this weekend.

For whatever reason, though, the Toffees decided to go a different direction.

Whether that is for better or worse, only time will tell.