Everton felt they had solved their striker woes as Frank Lampard signed Neal Maupay last August, but the sought-after forward is already now interested in a transfer away.
That is according to Paul Brown, who reports that Maupay is angling to quit Everton within one year of his arrival. Lampard paid Brighton & Hove Albion £15m to sign the 26-year-old, who agreed to a three-year contract. His deal also includes an optional one-year extension.
Lampard chose Maupay as the striker to end a summer-long effort by Everton to add goals beyond Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s output. He also hoped the Frenchman could compete with the Toffees’ talisman after seeing Calvert-Lewin kick off the 2022/23 season with an injury.
Maupay is interested in leaving Everton within a year of his transfer
Maupay would also start his Everton career by scoring the winner against West Ham United in his Goodison Park debut. Yet the goal proved to be a red herring as the former U21 talent failed to offer a second. He would end the term with just one goal in 29 games with Everton.
The Toffees did see Maupay add one assist to his record in their Carabao Cup defeat away at AFC Bournemouth. But one goal and one assist through 29 games in all competitions was far from what Everton expected. He further only started 13 games, with four under Sean Dyche.
Now, after playing 430 of a potential 1,620 minutes of Premier League football under Dyche, Maupay is interested in a transfer away from Everton this summer. He also recently spoke of his love for the forward’s former team, OGC Nice. He started his senior career there in 2012.
Maupay told Nice-Matin in June when asked if the striker would consider a return: “Nice is my home. I love the city, I love the club.”
OGC Nice is among the clubs interested in signing Maupay this summer
Nice could even offer Maupay his route away from Everton in the summer transfer window. Tutto Salernitana reported in May that the Ligue 1 side was rivaling Serie A duo Salernitana and Torino. Maupay was also a target of Salernitana before he accepted a switch to Everton.
Salernitana is prepared to revive their interest if Everton is open to selling Maupay, who Andros Townsend called a ‘great teammate’ back in September. I Granata’s sporting director Morgan De Sanctis is a huge admirer of the Frenchman and what he could produce in Italy.
Leave a Reply