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Yakubu set for protracted exit
With rumours abound that new West Ham manager Avram Grant is intent on re-forming his relationship with Everton striker Yakubu – the Israeli previously managing “The Yak” at former employers Maccabi Haifa – sources close to SOS (yes, we do think we’re SSN, in particular that mincer Andy Burton!) are suggesting a drawn out exit from the club for the burly Nigerian hitman.
With most redtop publications now having reported the story at some point, with valuations ranging from £4-6m, our sources are indicating that there are most definitely legs in these rumours and a parting of the ways seems inevitable.
With Louis Saha seemingly established as David Moyes’ preferred option up top – not a decision we at SOS agree with – and the frontline further strengthened by the arrival of street-talkin’ sharpshooter Jermaine Beckford, The Yak is reported to have already expressed a wish to move on to manager David Moyes.
With the single-minded Glaswegian further having communicated a desire to the press to “add a top class striker” to his ranks, and having privately been unconvinced by the all-round nature of Yakubu’s performances for a long, long time, it now seems that the chant “feed the Yak and he will score” may well have been heard for the last time at Goodison Park – from the home crowd at least!
SOS Sources told us last year that prior to Yakubu’s career-threatening achilles injury, an outline deal was already in place that would have seen the striker join up with another of his old mentors, Harry Redkapp at Spurs.
With a fee of £20m touted, it could have been viewed as good business, but with the form of the player at the time, and the season he had just had previously, it may well have been one that left Blues fans scratching their heads.
The issue becomes more interesting though when you consider a few other factors; Has Yakubu ever seemed like a ‘David Moyes player’? Has the manager ever truly been glowing in his praise of his cult-hero No 22, and has he ever really seemed convinced by his value to the team? Coupled with his willingness to sell to Spurs at that point, you have to wonder.
When you consider the nature of his signing too, and where that money was suggested at the time to have come from – one of Everton FC’s rumoured de facto owners/”friends of the club” – and then further factor in the involvement of Jewish ‘super-agent’ Pini Zahavi, it’s not really so far out to ask “did David Moyes ever really want the player anyway”…or was it maybe more a case of “here, we can get you Yakubu”???
With Yak having recently confirmed the story in the press himself, there is little doubt that he was on his way to Spurs pre-injury. From the outside, that would have been hard to understand. From the inside, maybe the manager has been trying to move on a player he never really personally invested in for some time…we think so.
In any case, we are told that whilst the players value has obviously dropped – given the severe nature of his injury and subsequent below-par displays – it will not be to a point where the manager will be taken advantage of.
Whilst it is unlikely the club will recoup the entire £11.25m outlay paid to Middlesboro’ for the player, our sources are suggesting it will take a bid close to the £10m mark before a deal can be struck.
Given the players scoring record, given that he is still relatively young (unless you are one of those who have doubts about the legitimacy of his birth certificate!) and given the competitive nature of this division and the distribution of wealth that now exists, that seems a perfectly reasonable and realisable value to put on the player.
When and who the valuation will be met by remains to be seen, one things seems certain though……our No 22′s time is up and it will be down to a new gun to fire the bullets come the 2010/11 opener.
LINK…….. Discuss this in the SOS Everton Forum
P.S, for those questioning our sources…we told you Jermaine Beckford would sign, he has. We told you Jack Rodwell would, he has. We have told you Mikel Arteta will, he will..be patient!
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12 Comments
Beckford in – Yak out…(shakes head).
Moyes was in for Yak BEFORE he went to Middlesboro, so of course he was interested when we bought him. And yes, he has praised him many times, once saying the Yak is an even better player than he thought when we signed him.
Personally I wouldn’t be too upset to see him go, he often seems too much of a luxury for a team like us where everyone needs to pull their weight. Yak has been too much for our other players to carry at times. Saying all that though, a fit Yak won’t be easy to replace…
jord,
the Yak pulling “his weight”…if only
If we could get £10m for him that’d be enough. He’s a great player but with Saha and now Beckford, he’s not essential. Not to the extent of Jags, Baines, Arteta, Cahill etc anyway. And who can forget when he went AWOL when away with Nigeria. I don’t see Saha causing those problems.
Not sure why anyone would shake their head, David O Keefe. Yakubu was poor all last season. Beckford has been prolific at lower levels – as was the likes of Aldridge and Wright years ago – and deserves his chance to prove himself at the higher level.
He’ll certainly be hungrier than the Yak, that’s for sure.
Dixie your indulging in wishful thinking re: Beckford you may be right, you may be wrong; we don’t know if he will succeed or not.
As for last season Yak returned from a very serious injury and was working his way back to fitness there were some good performances, but few goals. Finally, I must confess that I find the accusations of lazyness aimed at Yak tiresome, I want a striker to score goals not run around like a headless chicken, but then appears to be a minority view.
Thinking that a striker from the third division is an adequate replacement for a proven premier league striker is staggering, but we have all got to lower our expectations under Kenwrights regime and that means Beckford has to perform.
feed the yak and he WILL score simples
portsmouth/ middlesbrough/ everton the yak has had one good season for each club then he gets lazy and takes the piss is it a coincidence ? probably not.. he is a proven goal scorer but has a motivation attitude.. everton will be lucky to get 4 mill for him any more than that is a bonus i know he had a bad injury but some performances last season was alarming he just shuffled about like he shit his pants it was not a case of feed the yak and he will score its more like feed the yak and he’ll take a kip.. fuck him off we want footballers that play in boots not slippers
It would be a shame to see the Yak go as id say he’s the most natural goalscorer we’ve had since Gary Lineker. But that injury seems to have taken something out of him so if we can get a decent price maybe we should let him go and trust Moyes to find a suitable replacement.
personally i would be very dissapointed if the yak goes, i think alot of evertonians forgot what a fully fit yak brings to the side and that is goals, and lest we forget goals win games, i have watched jermaine beckford play many times and although he has plenty of pace and an eye for goal i think he is championship quality at best. he has a tendancy to drift out of games if hes not playing to well and he also misses quite a few chances before he scores, but i will give him the benefit of the doubt as he hasn’t had a chance in the prem yet, but in my opinion a fully fit yak is one of the best goal scorers in the league an is worth more than 5 or 6 million, he has a better record than dimitar berbatov in this league so that must mean at these valuations that berbatov is worth 2 million at best just some food for thought, hope the yak stays but if he does go would like to see oscar cardozo from benfica coyb
I will be disapointed to see him go if he does. Although by common agreement his work effort isn’t the best I think he is a natural goal scorer. I agree with Lee – the most natural we have had for years. There was a feeling when he signed (and ‘Boro fans certainly said as much) that you may get a couple of years out of him then his attention will drift off and he will want away. He hasnt looked the same since the injury either and serious as it was, you wonder if he has applied himself fully as it has been a long time now.
8 Million minimum in todays market for him. I am sure the plan isn’t for Beckford to replace him – I would hope that he is just a back up and see how he progresses but we do need a strong, pacy forward and we certainly can’t be relying on old french porcelain man all season thats for sure.
Got to laugh at anybody who seems to call Yakubu lazy or overweight.
He’s a proven goalscorer for fuck sake. Give him a full pre-season and he’ll get 20 goals next season, guaranteed.
If he doesn’t ‘work hard enough’, I guess we’ll get Andy Johnson back then?
You cunts are never happy.