Some 20 years ago today, David Moyes snapped up Joseph Yobo as his first signing as Everton manager and the Nigerian represented the kind of purchase that the Blues might be prudent to try and go for this summer. Back in the summer of 2002, funds were tight at Goodison Park but whereas his compatriot and predecessor Walter Smith had often gone for big name veterans such as John Collins (30); Richard Gough (37); Paul Gascoigne (33); Mark Hughes (36) and David Ginola (35), as a bright young manager himself at the time, Moyes, who had had only been appointed in March, embarked upon reshaping his squad with more youthful, energetic and hungry players.
Similar to Frank Lampard and Kevin Thelwell now, Moyes was operating within parameters in which he had to be creative with his budget and his acquisition of Yobo proved to be particularly canny. The acquisition represented something of a coup for Everton who had finished the previous season in 15th place with 43 points while also having just one top half placing in the Premier League across its first decade as they beat off reported interest from both Juventus and Arsenal – the reigning champions in Italy and England respectively – plus Newcastle United who had just come fourth.
Moyes said: “As far as I’m concerned, he’s Nigeria’s best player and I’m sure he’ll go on to captain his country. He played in several different positions for his country in the World Cup which gives us a great opportunity to use him just where we see fit.”
