Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi has left the club to join fellow Premier League club Fulham this summer, but there were key goings-on before his exit, according to a fresh claim.
Why did Alex Iwobi leave Everton?
The midfielder, who is now 27 years of age, had been a decent performer for the Blues since arriving from Arsenal in 2019, racking up 140 appearances and chipping in with 25 goal contributions (nine goals and 16 assists) along the way.
Iwobi decided to leave Everton late in the summer transfer window, however, opting to head to Fulham after seemingly considering the Cottagers a better option, especially when looking at the Premier League table.
It is an undoubted blow for the Blues, who will have been wanting to keep hold of the Nigerian at a time when they are struggling in the league and their squad isn't exactly brimming with depth in the middle of the park.
However, it certainly looks as though Everton did their best to retain Iwobi's services beyond this summer following a new update that has emerged since his departure.
Did Alex Iwobi reject Everton's contract offer?
According to Football Insider, the Merseysiders offered Iwobi a new deal a number of times but to no avail, as they did their utmost to keep hold of him before he left to sign for Fulham:
"Alex Iwobi agreed a last-gasp move to Fulham after rejecting multiple new contract offers from Everton, sources have told Football Insider. The Cottagers announced the capture of the midfielder, 27, in the early hours of Saturday (2 September) – after the window had formally shut.
"It is believed Fulham and Everton agreed a fee of around £22million for Iwobi. Ultimately, the Merseysiders were forced to cash in on the former Arsenal star as he had entered the last year of his contract and had turned down multiple offers to extend his deal.
"Everton were close to an agreement with the star earlier in the window and was offered what is said by sources to have been a 'huge' offer to extend."
It looks as though Everton did all they could to keep Iwobi throughout the summer, but the player himself clearly felt that it was time for a fresh challenge, returning to London in the process.
While the 63-cap and 10-goal Nigeria international was necessarily the most highly-rated player outside Goodison Park, his energy and quality made him an important figure, and he chipped in at key times in recent relegation battles, like when scoring a massive late winner at home to Newcastle United back in March 2022 that proved to be huge.
Iwobi will be a loss for Everton as they look to overcome a poor start to the season and kick on under Sean Dyche, and it is now up to others to step up to the plate.
The likes of Idrissa Gueye, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Amadou Onana all need to go up a level moving forward, making up for the loss of their former teammate, and they have to show that he isn't too big a miss after all.