Everton will rue Brands clanger on £175k-p/w "lion" with "the strength of Mike Tyson" - opinion

Everton’s financial troubles have put them on the lookout for potential bargain signings this summer – and in the near future too with Pedrinho and Guus Til having been linked with free transfers to Goodison Park due to the foreign players in the recently opened Ukraine and Russia transfer window.

One player though that could have joined the Toffees on a free transfer a few years ago was legendary striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who came close to joining Carlo Ancelotti at the club.

According to the Telegraph in December 2019, the 40-year-old – who is still worth £3.6m according to Transfermarkt, was “interested” in a move to Merseyside to play in blue, but the move never materialised.

Instead, the Swede moved from LA Galaxy just a couple weeks later on a free transfer to Italian giants AC Milan for his second stint there, scoring 36 goals in all competitions since.

In comparison, Richarlison has just 25 goals in that time period in all competitions, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin bettering the Brazilians total by just four.

While the Premier League is arguably a more difficult league to score in than the Italian Serie A, Ibrahimovic, who has proclaimed himself a “lion“, was a success in the English top flight, scoring 17 goals in 33 games for Manchester United, as well as netting a total of 29 in all competitions.

If his age was a concern at the time, it is clear that Marcel Brands made a misjudgement on the longevity of the striker’s career. This season, the titan who Mino Raiola said has “the strength of Mike Tyson” has still managed eight league goals for Milan, despite having started just 11 times – with the club leading the Serie A standings.

Once upon a time a Malmo youth academy prospect, the forward is still as active