The fate of many Everton Academy graduates who have departed Goodison Park in high profile exits over recent years serves of something of a cautionary tale to both Anthony Gordon and Chelsea. While the respective players’ attributes and abilities plus reasons behind their leaving have varied greatly, most of them have one thing in common, a sense of disappointment at what happened to their careers after the Blues.
One of the early Everton Academy graduates to move to a Premier League rival was David Unsworth. It was an absolutely wretched deal from the Blues’ point of view as in his third spell as manager, the club’s most-successful boss Howard Kendall, once such an astute judge of player, found himself badly outmanoeuvred by Harry Redknapp, who somehow convinced him to swap the England international for Danny Williamson, with the east End outfit also getting a further £1million.
The Cockney midfielder made just 15 largely ineffectual Premier League appearances for Everton in his first season, then never kicked a ball for the club for another two years due to a foot injury before his contract was terminated and he retired from the game aged just 26. Unsworth for his part, returned to Goodison Park just a year after he left – via a bizarre month-long spell at Aston Villa – but at least he got a second chance.
