Former Everton manager defends 2017 ‘flop’ signing

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Former Everton manager Ronald Koeman has lept to the defence of one of the signings he made during his time at Goodison Park.

Davy Klaassen was brought in by the Dutchman for a fee of £23.6 million (The Liverpool Echo)in 2017, and big things were expected of the former Ajax captain.

But the star struggled to cope with the transition from Eredivisie to Premier League.

He found himself in competition for minutes with proven Premier League talents Gylfi Sigurdsson and Wayne Rooney, and struggled to get off the bench.

He made just 16 first-team appearances for the club, before he was signed by Werder Bremen last summer.

Speaking about the player after snubbing him for his Netherlands squad for the Nations League, Koeman said (via The Liverpool Echo): “It was difficult for him at Everton. Most of the time – and I heard those stories as well – people say that you need a year to settle in the Premier League. You cannot say after one month, two months ‘he is not good enough’.

“Some players need adaptation time. You need that time. If they come to the Premier League, it is different – the intensity, the decisions by the referees.”

TBR’s view

Klaassen’s form with Bremen last term was proof there was a great player in there all along.

But the attacking midfielder simply couldn’t cope with the intensity of the Premier League, and the players in his position were always going to make life difficult.

It simply did not work out for him, and Marco Silva clearly felt the need to move him on.

Klaassen has been playing on the left of a diamond with Bremen, which perhaps suggests he could have been a success on Merseyside with a bit of patience