Everton have made some poor decisions when it comes to selling players in the past, watching some sold stars go on to achieve stardom away from Goodison Park and the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Although the majority of the focus has been on the poor incomings that former owner Farhad Moshiri brought into Everton during his spell as owner, there have been some equally disappointing Premier League departures.
Less so the sale of Anthony Gordon to Newcastle, which was necessary for FFP reasons, but the departure of Lucas Digne to Aston Villa, Ademola Lookman to RB Leipzig and Steven Pienaar to Tottenham over the course of around 10 years.
However, one deal that Everton – and specifically Sean Dyche – got spot on was the sale of Tom Cannon to Leicester City just over two years ago.
Everton FC v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Premier League
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Tom Cannon was never going to get into Everton’s first-team on a regular basis
Everton have had a number of top youth strikers come through the club’s youth academy ranks in recent years, though they haven’t quite made the grade.
Wayne Rooney was the last striker who went on to be consistent at Premier League level, and he did that with aplomb, where he currently sits third in the all-time goalscorer rankings.
Since then, a striking cohort of James Vaughan, Kieran Agard, Jose Baxter, Conor McAleny, Lewis Dobbin and Ellis Simms have all made Premier League appearances for the Toffees and tried their hand, but none have come close.
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Cannon made just three Premier League outings for the Toffees, and after his loan spell at Preston, many fans questioned whether or not he would be an upcoming star for the future.
However, life after his move has proven that to be an incredible decision by Sean Dyche, who sold Cannon at just the right time with his stock at a high. Dyche was sacked in January after some poor form but that decision to let Cannon go has proven to be the right one.
Tom Cannon’s life after Everton has proven that he’s gone downhill
Tom Cannon made his Everton debut as a substitute in November 2022, around three years ago – and although he made three appearances for the club in that time, minutes elsewhere seemed to be the logical solution.
With that in mind, the Ireland cap joined Preston North End on loan in January 2023 until the end of the season. Although he took a while to get going in the league, Cannon finally got on the scoresheet in a 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic at the end of February, and that sparked a strong run of form.
Eight Championship goals in just 11 games saw him stamp his mark as a leading goalscorer in the division, prompting Cannon’s move to Leicester City.
Although he didn’t get many minutes at Leicester due to Jamie Vardy, Patson Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho being at the club, he was loaned to Stoke City, where last season, he scored nine goals in 22 Championship games to find his level again.
But after his move to Sheffield United, Cannon has only scored one goal in 28 – coming in a 2-1 loss against Burnley in a six-pointer.
He needs to do more against the ‘lower’ sides – but it has proven that he wouldn’t have been able to cut it at Premier League level.