Alex Iwobi has expressed his desire to play Champions League football again.
The 27-year-old has proved a key player for Everton under both Frank Lampard and then Sean Dyche. He featured in every Premier League game last season and was highly influential as a creative force at the start of the campaign - despite playing in a side that struggled for goals.
His equaliser at Leicester City earned a point that proved crucial to Everton’s top-flight survival and both his ability and versatility make him important to Dyche. But long-running contract talks are yet to reach a conclusion and Iwobi is due to move into the final year of his current deal this summer if no new agreement is reached, placing his long term future with the Blues in doubt.
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Iwobi has been at the heart of almost everything positive in an otherwise difficult 18 months on the pitch at Everton. His Blues career was revived by the appointment of Lampard in January 2022. That initially led to a resurgence that saw him set Goodison Park alight with a 99th-minute winner against Newcastle United before his strength and determination helped him to cover as a right wing back in the final weeks of that campaign.
A midfield crisis then forced Lampard to move Iwobi into the centre of the pitch for the beginning of last season. Yet, despite being in more unknown territory, the Nigeria international shone and made himself a permanent fixture of the three-man central midfield deployed by the former Everton boss.
From that position Iwobi was a creative inspiration despite being hampered by the Blues' struggles up top as Dominic Calvert-Lewin fought for fitness. By the World Cup break he had provided five assists and a goal - meaning he had contributed to six of the 11 goals scored by the team at that stage of the campaign. That form led to Everton launching talks over a new contract. However, they have rumbled on without conclusion.
Iwobi secured the Players’ Player of the Year accolade at the club and is a key component of a side that needs to strengthen its attacking options rather than lose an important player. The Blues would also be reluctant to risk losing a player on a free should there be no prospect of reaching a new deal, though.
Iwobi, who was moved to the right wing under Dyche, was asked about his future while on international duty with Nigeria and it was his answer to whether he would consider a move to Saudi Arabia, where a number of high-profile players have recently signed deals, that revealed his desire to play at the top level domestically.
“I won’t go to Saudi Arabia,” the former Arsenal man is quoted as telling Nigerian sports channel Brila FM. “I feel like I have a lot to prove with my football, and I would like to play in the Champions League. It has always been my dream; I have played in it before, and I want to have a taste of it again.
“I have been told to focus on my football so whatever is happening behind closed doors, I'll leave it to my agent. I don't know what is going on, I am here to do a job for my national team, and I am here to focus on football."
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