Everton lets forgotten midfielder join CSKA Moscow on loan

Everton have finalised a deal that sees Ivory Coast midfielder, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, join Russian side CSKA Moscow on loan until the end of the season.

Jean-Philippe Gbamin, who joined Everton back in 2019 for £25m, was predicted to be a big summer addition and a shrewd bit of business by the club; Employed by the Toffees to be the Idrissa Gueye replacement, who left Goodison Park for Paris Saint-Germain — a loss they feel to date.

Sadly, things didn’t go to plan with Gbamin only featuring as little as eight times across all competitions for the Toffees between 2019 and 2022.

"Everton’s Ivory Coast midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin has joined CSKA Moscow on loan until the end of the season.Gbamin, 26, who joined Everton from Mainz for £25m in August 2019, has made eight appearances in all competitions.He last appeared as a substitute in the FA Cup win at Hull City on 8 January."

He has been at the club for three seasons running; the most he’s featured in a single season is four matches, which is the current 2021/22 campaign. Prior to that, he made two appearances in 2019/20 and then one in 2020/21.

Injury setbacks the demise of Jean-Philippe Gbamin’s Everton career

As per BBC sports, the 25-year-old Ivorian’s career has been hampered by injury after injury. Just after joining the Merseyside outfit, Jean-Philippe Gbamin spent roughly 20 months on the sideline.

The first issue was a serious thigh injury that required him to go under the knife twice. The second was reportedly an Achilles injury, something that persisted for a lengthy spell.

"Gbamin was ruled out for 20 months after signing when a thigh injury that required two operations was followed by an Achilles problem picked up on his return to first-team training.He is able to move outside the English transfer window because Russian clubs can sign players until 22 February.CSKA – fourth in the Russian Premier League – resume their campaign on Saturday following an 11-week winter break. (Via: BBC.com)"

There is no option to buy included in the loan deal and it could work out well in Everton’s favour once the loan spell concludes.

He will get the needed game time required to get him match fit (that’s if he can stay fit and force his way into the first-team selection at CSKA Moscow) and either add value to his price tag or become the player they initially signed for £25m back in 2019.

In his limited spell of eight games, he scored no goals and assisted one, however, it was not his goalscoring prowess that he was signed for. Normally deployed as a DM, CM, or either side of the midfield flanks, Gbamin possessed the same powers as the former Everton general, Gueye.

He has also enjoyed some time in the back line as a centre back for both club and country. His biggest asset was his ability to stay fit and almost always be available for selection, then be ready to slot in anywhere at the back, displaying exceptional versatility.

This is what the Eves were hoping for when they made the Jean-Philippe Gbamin order and instead received a “Wish” product. Hopefully, the Mainz Gbamin returns from Russia and it gets better for him from this loan forward.