Allardyce was never going to get Aubameyang instead of Tosun last January

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Sam Allardyce has claimed that during his time as Everton manager, he wanted to bring Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Goodison Park, as per TalkSport.

Aubameyang joined Arsenal during last January’s transfer window, but Allardyce has claimed that he was in the race to bring him to Merseyside before that switch.

He said: “Aubameyang was desperate to come to the Premier League and we didn’t really know if it was definitely a yes [to Everton] or not. The rumours were that he really wanted to come to the Premier League and he was desperate to come.”

Allardyce went on to sign Cenk Tosun in that transfer window, which has been a cross for his successor Marco Silva to bear because he has not fit the bill so far at Goodison.

But Allardyce was never going to get Aubameyang to Everton – he ended up joining Arsenal for a bumper fee that would likely have sat outside Everton’s realm.

Importantly, it means that Tosun was never the former Toffees manager’s first choice – which makes it unsurprising that he has not proved to be a resounding success.

That has cost Silva in the months that have followed, but further enforces the idea that Allardyce was not the right man to take Everton forward beyond the end of the season.