City have been linked with a move for former Everton striker Antony Evans, currently with Bundesliga 2 outfit Paderborn.
Journalist Pete O’Rourke is the source, the same source who broke the news about Robbie Gotts and perhaps one the most trusted on Twitter at the moment. Don’t expect an announcement though, it sounds as though at this stage, we are being credited with interest rather than a solid move. We’re not the only ones either – Rotherham, Wycombe, Charlton, Wigan, and Shrewsbury are all thought to be monitoring the situation.
Who is Antony Evans? He’s a 22-year-old striker who came through the ranks at Everton, signing a professional contract in 2017. He didn’t breakthrough at Goodison, instead having a 2016/17 loan spell with League Two side Morecambe, scoring twice. The following season he appeared against us for Everton Under 21s in the EFL Trophy, then in 2018/19 he joined Blackpool on loan, but failed to score.
He did bag last season, again for Everton Under 21s in the EFL Trophy, before earning his move to Paderborn who were in the Bundesliga at the time. He made two starts for them in the German top flight, once against Werder Bremen as they lot 5-1, and again as they lost 3-1 to Borussia Mönchengladbach. This season he has appeared twice, but not at all in the league, and he looks set for a return to England. He did contribute an assist in one of his matches, Paderborn’s 5-0 Cup win against Wiedenbrück.
When he first moved to Germany, he was described as: “nimble, right-footed attacker who can play in attacking midfield, wide on the left or up front, is excellent at set-pieces and scoring from distance, there is more than a little of the Marco Reus about Evans.” That versatility certainly plays into Michael’s usual recruitment plan, and perhaps there is some truth in the rumour.
Everton Under 23 boss David Unsworth was a big fan too, saying: “I love working with him, he’s a top talent and he shows his quality in the final third. He’s desperate to get on the ball so he drops deep at times, but that’s something we’ve been working on for four or five years! He’s just desperate to get on the ball all the time.”
However, as I mentioned, don’t start tweeting ‘announce Evans’ just yet (especially not today with Gills being cancelled). He penned a two-and-a-half-year deal back in January 2020, which means there would almost certainly be a fee required, which may not only rule us out, but a number of the clubs on the list of supposedly interested parties.