Neal Maupay says that a meme he posted to Twitter on deadline day was an expression of his relief at securing a move away from Everton, two years after he was first signed under Frank Lampard.
The Frenchman was acquired from Brighton & Hove Albion as director of football, Kevin Thelwell, sought cover for the injured Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the summer of 2022.
He was regarded as an awkard fit in terms of replacing Calvert-Lewin but the feeling was that he might be able to offer something as a foil for the striker when the two were fit and, potentially, playing in the same side.
Maupay struggled to make any kind of impact at Goodison Park, however, and scored just one goal before eventually joining his former club, Brentord, on loan last season.
The Bees didn’t take up the option to sign him on a permanent basis during the most recent transfer window but Thelwell was able to negotiate a €500,000 loan move for him to Marseille, with the Ligue 1 agreeing to an obligation to buy him for €5m next year.
That gave Maupay the exit he was looking for, with few Evertonians lamenting his departure due to a number of irksome social media posts he has made over the past 12 months or so.
His reply to Fabriazio Romano’s announcement on Twitter that the deal with Marseille was pending, featuring a scene from Shawshank Redemption, was his last before departing the Blues and he explained it in the media today:
“Supporters like to discuss, criticise, and celebrate and it doesn’t bother me because I consider myself a normal person and, if everyone can tweet, I can do it too,” Maupay said.
“I published a funny little video because my situation at Everton was known — I wanted to leave and the club didn’t want to keep me.
“So this little video was to say that I was relieved to leave the club.”
Should Maupay perform well in Ligue 1, the eventual transfer fee could reach as high as €10m but Everton are, no doubt, satisfied at this juncture to have got an unwanted player off the books, with cash to come at the end of the season.