Forgotten former Premier League flop who once cost £25m finally finds new club in French second division
FORGOTTEN Everton flop Jean-Philippe Gbamin who once cost the Toffees £25million is now at second-division side USL Dunkerque.
The midfielder joined Goodison Park in 2019 but after failing to impress the Merseyside club he left in the summer as a free agent.
Gbamin, 28, has now found a new role with the second-tier French club after being unemployed all summer.
According to L’Equipe, the Ivory Coast international has agreed to a short-term contract with Dunkerque.
USL Dunkerque was promoted last season from the third division into Ligue 2.
The report also claimed Gbamin wanted to be close to his family, who live near Lille, so it was a good personal move for him.
Everton signed the midfielder back in 2019 from German side Mainz on a five-year contract.
His agent, Bernard Collignon, has claimed he was previously wanted by Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool, before they decided upon Goodison Park.
However, it turned into a nightmare four-year stint for Gbamin.
He struggled to hit the ground running due to fitness issues and when he eventually got up to speed, Covid hit.
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Then while playing football and tennis at home, he snapped his achilles in a freak injury.
Once he had recovered, loan spells at CSKA Moscow and Trabzonspor failed to re-ignite his career.
And last month the Ivorian decided to forfeit the final 12 months of his contract – worth around £5m in wages – in an attempt to get his career back on track after playing just eight games for Everton.
Gbamin has earned 16 caps for Ivory Coast’s national team – including one appearance earlier this year.
He was also a France U21 international until 2016.
But he has played just 45 club games in four years since leaving Bundesliga side Mainz.