Sambou rejects contract extension

Thursday, 27 June, 2019 36comments  |  Jump to most recent
Bassala Sambou, who was one of the main goalscorers for David Unsworth's trophy-winning Under-23 side, has rejected an extension to his contract and looks set to leave Everton.

Sambou, who was born in Hannover and joined Everton from Coventry City 3 years ago, has been unable to get close to making the step up to Everton's first team, and appears frustrated with the apparent lack of opportunity for advancement, amidst signs that Ellis Simms is set to leapfrog over him when the pre-season starts in earnest.

The 21-year-old striker's contract runs out at the end of this week and the Liverpool Echo is reporting that he has rejected an offer of a new deal to stay at Goodison Park.

 

Reader Comments (36)

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Ralph Basnett
1 Posted 27/06/2019 at 15:29:29
Byeeeeee
Brent Stephens
2 Posted 27/06/2019 at 15:51:02
I also wish him the best of luck.
Steve Ferns
3 Posted 27/06/2019 at 16:00:49
He struggled to make the grade as he stepped up the levels. Not surprised he is gone. I don't think this is so much as rejecting our offer as accepting he has a limited future at the club and it's best to move on and try to get first team football and kick-start his career. I hope he can.
Alan J Thompson
4 Posted 27/06/2019 at 16:03:59
Could this be the start of a trend as Everton seem only to be offering one year extensions to players of this age. What approximately are these kids paid at Everton and what could they expect from a lower division club. After that I assume it depends on whether staying is seen as a greater opportunity albeit that a transfer fee was paid for this lad from Coventry, was it.
Michael Kenrick
5 Posted 27/06/2019 at 16:12:22
Hi Alan,

According to our records, his transfer from Coventry City was free, so no fee paid.

It seems odd to me that he's not been given more of a chance after showing some ability to put the ball in the net at U23 level. His stats are far better than Dominc Calvert-Lewin's at that level.

Interesting that they both joined the club around the same time, and Bassala is only 6 months younger than
Dominic, but the opportunity to advance was only given to Calvert-Lewin and not him.

Tommy Carter
6 Posted 27/06/2019 at 16:12:38
Good on him. Good attitude. Go and prove how good you are
Alan J Thompson
7 Posted 27/06/2019 at 16:21:28
Cheers, Michael. For some reason I had it in mind that we paid £600k for him, half of what Calvert-Lewin cost.
Jay Harris
8 Posted 27/06/2019 at 16:34:56
Good luck to the lad but he didn't particularly impress me when I watched the U23s.
Dave Abrahams
9 Posted 27/06/2019 at 16:42:16
When Sambou left Coventry to grab his opportunity at Everton, Coventry wanted to keep him but one of his coaches said that although he had plenty of potential he was very raw and would be better staying at Coventry before moving up to a higher grade.

He had speed was aggressive and scored a few goals which included a few penalties, he also missed plenty of chances, I think his agent might have a few offers in the bag although I'd be surprised if they were from the Premier League or the championship.

Michael (5), if Everton were to sell Dominic Calvert-Lewin this summer, he would fetch at least £15M; Bassala Sambou... not a penny unfortunately, that's the difference between them.

Steve Ferns
10 Posted 27/06/2019 at 16:54:27
Calvert-Lewin played a lot of first-team football, for Sheff Utd and for Northampton Town before he joined us. Sambou played a single game for Coventry in the FA Cup. Calvert-Lewin was good enough to be pitched against men, whilst Sambou has flattered to deceive against boys. He scored 9 goals in 22 games last season but I never once thought he could be ready for the first team. He doesn't have enough about him. He's got a lot of pace but not much else. There's more space in the U23 game and he could run in behind. The goals he scored came from opportunities that Premier League teams rarely give.

There's a world of difference between Calvert-Lewin and Sambou and there always was. Dominic only had 9 games with the U23s before being ushered towards the first team, as everyone who saw him at that level for us knew he was too good for it.

Peter Gorman
11 Posted 27/06/2019 at 16:58:32
Two years ago, the lad looked promising. Last year, much less so.

Good luck to him in his future endeavours.

Alan McKie
12 Posted 27/06/2019 at 17:08:15
Unfortunately a few % of academy players make it through the ranks at any club, never mind Everton. Some will earn a living out of football elsewhere some won't. Most clubs have academy players from the age of 6/7, year on year. You need to have good fortune and a lot of luck.
Eddie Dunn
13 Posted 27/06/2019 at 17:19:57
Sad for the boys but hope he carves out a career at a lower level. He's only 21 and has time on his side. Better he goes now and tries his luck than waiting 12 months.
Joe McMahon
14 Posted 27/06/2019 at 19:13:34
Ralph @1 that's a bit harsh. He's seen a non-scoring Calvert-Lewin ontinually getting first-team football. Can you blame him wanting first team football and wanting to leave?
Phil (Kelsall) Roberts
15 Posted 27/06/2019 at 19:20:12
It is the difference between the young athletes who are fast or strong with a average amount of skill and those who are fast or strong with a lot of skill and also a football brain.

We did once have a kid who most of us consider to not be the guy who would hold down a job in the City or in the courtroom but last night saw the opposition goalie was usually standing outside his area when his team were on the attack so 2 minutes later when the ball fell to him 10-15 yards inside his own half he wellied it over the goalies head for a goal. He had that football brain when he was 16.

It is the football brain which often makes the difference.

Liam Reilly
16 Posted 27/06/2019 at 20:07:45
Dave #9,

If Calvert-Lewin can fetch £15M, and I'm not saying he wouldn't, then the world has truly gone mad.

Justin Doone
17 Posted 27/06/2019 at 21:02:03
Like many promising teenagers, he's not improved. Pace is great but, if it's your only asset, then he will not become a Premier League player.

As players grow and are given opportunities, they need to show improvement because 23/24 is often the cut-off age for forwards to show what they have.

After that, it's about reading the game and game management which is why defenders often break into the first team at an older age.

Good luck, it was worth a shot and who knows, if he's not work-shy and can add to his game over the next few years, he can still make a living from the game.

There will be many more like him in the coming months and years. Good luck to them.

Ray Roche
18 Posted 27/06/2019 at 21:17:31
Liam @16,

The world went mad when Solanke, half the player Calvert-Lewin is, went to Bournemouth for £19m after 19 RS games and 1 goal. And Christ only knows how he got a cap for England.

Stop knocking our own.

Derek Knox
19 Posted 27/06/2019 at 21:21:21
I do wish the lad all the best for the future, and hope it works out for him. I watch the U-23s as often as I can, and while I have witnessed some good performances and goals from him, he has never actually had me on the front of my seat.

Maybe he is a late developer, who knows, but with him being out of contract, there are obviously no conditions of future sales, or buy-back clauses.

Dave Abrahams
20 Posted 27/06/2019 at 21:46:04
Liam (16), fair enough, I think the world went mad a long time ago when it came to transfer fees.
Si Smith
21 Posted 28/06/2019 at 02:25:59
Calvert-Lewin is worth £15M of anyone's money!
David Ellis
22 Posted 28/06/2019 at 10:50:54
Johnson as Prime Minister; Trump as President...

I think there are better indications of world gone madness than Calvert-Lewin's potential selling price.

David Pearl
23 Posted 28/06/2019 at 13:44:33
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is probably worth closer to £25M, not £15M. This is the new model for teams to purchase young players with a sell-on fee.

Let's face it, if he adds goals to his game, my valuation of him will double. As Ray said, Solanke was £19M. How on earth could Calvert-Lewin be worth less?

Wan-Bissaka – £50M... for a kid who may or may not make it. He could follow Zaha back to Palace this time next year. The world has gone mad. There is so much money in the world. For some.

As for Sambou, he obviously feels he needs to move to try and break into a first team so good luck to him. It will become much harder for our younger players to come through from now on. They must be allowed to move out on loan at the beginning of a season.

Si Smith
24 Posted 28/06/2019 at 15:54:50
David, I couldn't agree more. I wouldn't entertain bids of less than £30M for Calvert-Lewin, so long as he was under contract. People may call that mad but look at what £30M buys you in terms of a striker.

Solanke: £20M, after long-term injury and no game time all season.
Benteke: £30M, after flopping badly – and this before the crazy increases.
Tosun: £25M, unproven in any major league.
Mitrovic: £25M, proven to be around 10 goals a season aged 24/25, is that enough?
Morata: £75M, not proven in this league.

So, with your £15/25M, who do you go and buy as a forward?
Before anyone mentions Gomes's price, please don't as he's not a forward, and we got him at a steal.

I honestly don't see anyone getting a top striker unless they pay £100M+ or unearth a gem who they will instantly turn into a £100M+ player.

I know Calvert-Lewin isn't in Rashford's level (yet hopefully), but how much do you think it would cost to entertain Man Utd with an offer for their young striker?

Some of us Blues undervalue our young lads, they will make or save our club millions and millions of pounds with the current crop or two we have.

Jim Bennings
25 Posted 29/06/2019 at 12:13:37
If Calvert-Lewin played for say Bournemouth for two years like he has for us and had scored 6 League goals since February 2018, would many Evertonians be clamouring for us to go and pay Bournemouth (just an example) £15-25 million to buy him?

The answer is an emphatic no.

We have a warped sense of value to certain players.

Darren Hind
26 Posted 29/06/2019 at 13:05:17
I think Most Evertonians are intelligent enough to know Calvert-Lewin brings a lot more to the team than an out-and-out striker who isn't scoring.

Not all, though.

Tony Abrahams
27 Posted 29/06/2019 at 13:10:50
I agree, Darren, and think that only when you get a really good team can you get away with a Lukaku type. But that's the beauty of football, it's all about opinions and putting the ball into the back of the net!
Darren Hind
28 Posted 29/06/2019 at 13:31:30
It's a complete myth that Lukaku is a 25-goal-a-season striker. He is living on perception.

Yes, he had one incredible season for Everton, scoring some truly great goals. But he simply hasn't applied himself the way he should have. He averaged 14 Premier League goals a season, before that season, and he has gone right back to that average in his two seasons with Manchester United.

Terrible buy for Man Utd. Their fans are gobsmacked at his poor control and lack of desire.

Tony Abrahams
29 Posted 29/06/2019 at 13:52:47
But loads of Evertonians were only interested in his goals? I think this tells me what Everton had become, and for all the stick that Calvert-Lewin receives, his fantastic work-rate is definitely improving the team.
Winston Williamson
30 Posted 29/06/2019 at 14:47:08
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was my favourite player from last season, purely from the fact of his huge improvement and how he made the team ‘click'.

I'd take one Calvert-Lewin over three Lukaku's!

Lukaku is an Instagram footballer. If it doesn't look good, it doesn't matter, and breaking a sweat doesn't look good...

Darren Hind
31 Posted 29/06/2019 at 14:50:12
I'm confident we will score more goals next season than we did in any of the seasons Lukaku was here and we will be a million times better to watch.

People moaned that we didn't sign a replacement. We didn't need to, we needed to change our style. Silva is finally doing that.

I fancy an Everton team without Lukaku to outscore a Man Utd team with him.

Tony Abrahams
32 Posted 29/06/2019 at 15:12:22
I share the exact same sentiments, so I just hope you're right Darren. Some of the football Everton played towards the back-end of last season was brilliant. If you have got a manager who isn't scared to really have a go, then hopefully it will continue to rub off on his players. I will feel more confident if we can sign a few more good players first, though.

I think watching live is so much different to watching on tv, and I'm sure Andy Crooks was shocked by some of Calvert-Lewin's movement and work rate against Man Utd but, because we never really discussed it, I might also be wrong.

Tommy Carter
33 Posted 29/06/2019 at 15:12:59
Lukaku is very good at what he does. But him one on one with a defender within 40 yards of the goal and the outcome is often inevitable. He’s one of the best I’ve seen in these types of situation because of his strength and directness.

However his all round game is not that great as other have said. I don’t think it makes him a bad player at all.

But Lukaku and Everton is a thing of the past. As others have pointed out we did not need to replace him, just to adapt our style.

Successful clubs don’t replace great players. That’s often impossible. LFC did not try and replace Gerrard, what would be the point. You’d never find the player on planet earth to replace him. They simply adapted their style completely and have found success in doing so.

One striker getting 25 goals isn’t what we require. It’s 4 players getting double figures.

I think DCL is capable of ten league goals next season

Siggy 10

Richarlison 15

We just need another forward who can add to this

Digne is capable of 5, as is Yerry Mina.

Paul Tran
34 Posted 29/06/2019 at 15:20:57
I was a big fan of Lukaku when he was here, but he's gone backwards at Man Utd. Poor work-rate, poor goals return. For us, he's the past.

Calvert-Lewin doesn't score many, but boy does he hold the front of this team together. He is the pivot Koeman wanted and has covered the role well since Walsh failed to land Giroud, or anyone else.

The team needs more goals, but it doesn't have to be one man. That said, a top goalscorer would have an incredible effect on us, psychologically as well as in the goals column. Every one of them is an expensive gamble.

Si Smith
35 Posted 29/06/2019 at 17:43:45
Comparisons comparisons we all have opinions, mine is I rate both Dom and Rom, but if both were at the blues now I'd start Rom for his goals (which despite some people's thoughts, the facts remain he does score goals), and after 60-70 minutes I'd swap him for Dom for his work rate.

I'd play both at home against many a side in the Premier League, almost every team from 5th down.

As per TW comments, we always seem to find something per player to moan about: Rom's touch (even though he was hitting 20 goals); Stones and his over playing at the back (despite his plaudits throughout the league); Barkley and his lack of defensive work (despite the fact his creative side was something we had missed since Arteta); Coleman for not returning from injury in the same manner as he's been brilliant enough to grace us with for almost a decade.

We always want to have a go; imo, we should always want to keep our better players.

Calvert-Lewin isn't one of our top 5 players, I'd give anyone that, but before shipping him out, I'd move on at least 10 players earning more money. (Tosun, Walcott, Schneiderlin, Niasse, Martina, Stekelenburg, Besic, McCarthy, Mirallas, and Bolasie to name some!) We always seem to concentrate on putting down our youth team. I'd bet my bottom dollar it will be Davies again soon enough, probably after captaining the side in his next pre-season friendly.

Dick Fearon
36 Posted 01/07/2019 at 04:17:19
I agree with all those who praise Calvert-Lewin's workrate; wherever he goes in future years, that enthusiasm and effort will be quoted by his fans.

Sadly, he lacks a striker's key attribute and that is a goalscoring instinct. IMHO, the best scorers are born and the best coaching in the world can only make partial improvement on that basic god-given natural talent.

Domenic will have a good career in football but not as a striker. I foresee him developing into a really top-level midfielder.


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