Theo Walcott has suggested Moise Kean joined Everton too soon in his career, amid the striker’s improved fortunes over in Italy.
Over the years, Everton have splashed a lot of money on strikers who did not live up to expectations.
Where does Moise Kean rank among the worst Everton strikers you’ve seen? 🫣
An overview of Moise Kean's record for Everton.
Credit: Getty Images/Laurence Griffiths.
The likes of Neal Maupay, Salomon Rondon, Cenk Tosun, Sandro Ramirez and Oumar Niasse all failed to score goals regularly for the Toffees.
But there was particular disappointment over Moise Kean.
Everton shelled out an initial £25 million to snap up the then 19-year-old, who was already a full Italy international at that point.
There was much promise, but ultimately he delivered very little – just four goals in 39 appearances before leaving.
But Theo Walcott has sympathy for his former teammate.
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Theo Walcott states why it didn’t work out for Moise Kean at Everton
Moise Kean playing for Everton.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Kean was handed plenty of chances at Everton.
But as a lot of young players discover when they come from overseas to the Premier League, the physicality proved a real challenge for Kean.
Theo Walcott shared the dressing room with Kean at Everton, and is therefore well placed to speak about why it didn’t really work out for him.
And for him it just boils down to his age.
He said during an interview with Stan Sport Football: “I tell you what, he was some player. On a one-on-one situation, he was silly. Silly good.
“There were moments of it at times, but it just wasn’t the right time for him to come to the Premier League.
“But he’s doing really well at this moment in time.”
Happier times for Kean since Everton exit
Kean had a two-year loan spell away from Everton – at Paris Saint-Germain and then Juventus – before leaving permanently in 2023.
After another poor spell at Juve, Kean then joined Fiorentina, a move that has helped him find his feet.
Moise Kean for Fiorentina since 2024 move
Appearances – 76
Goals – 34
Assists – 7
To date, he’s scored 34 goals in 76 appearances, and also made seven assists.
He’s also been doing well at international level. For Italy, he has scored in six straight games.
He has started to develop into the player many hoped he would, with his naturally increased maturity no doubt helping him to thrive.
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