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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
You would assume that when a player hands in a transfer request to force a move away from a side, the fans wouldn’t take kindly to it – nor would those inside the club, including his teammates.
Most Liverpool fans still aren’t too fond of Philippe Coutinho after the Brazilian submitted a transfer request of his own in order to join Barcelona back in January 2018, with the attacking midfielder even paying £11.5m of his own money to push the deal through.
However, this ill-feeling should definitely not be replicated if Idrissa Gueye’s protracted move to Paris Saint-Germain goes through this summer.
Some Everton fans aren’t too happy about the concept of Gueye leaving in general, but they should put the transfer blow behind them to honour and understand what the midfielder wants.
You won’t believe which of Liverpool’s Champions League winning side of 2005 is still playing in the video below…
The Senegal international is seemingly closing in on a move to the French champions after a fee of £28m was agreed between the Toffees and the team from the French capital, and it looks as if the 29-year-old’s decision to submit a transfer request back in January himself has had the desired effect he would’ve hoped it would.
Instead of posting snake emojis under every single social media post of his until the end of his career, what Everton supporters and the club themselves should do is send Gueye off with their best wishes and thank him for his efforts.
It would’ve been easy for the 5 foot 9 midfielder to mentally check out and down tools after his request to leave in January was rejected.
Instead, the former Aston Villa man got his head down and continued to churn out excellent performances – to compare with Coutinho again, the Barcelona man appeared to fake a back injury, missing crucial summer games such as the Champions League play-off against Hoffenheim, before miraculously recovering for international duty amid his transfer saga.
Gueye appears to be the model professional. He was even named as the Everton Players’ Player of the Season along with Lucas Digne for his fine showings in 2018/19.
He has simply knuckled down and worked tremendously hard for the team since arriving from Aston Villa back in 2016, and Everton should respect the professionalism Gueye has shown since January as he looks set to embark on his first taste of the Champions League since his Lille days.
Perhaps that should be expected of any footballer, but in the modern era cases like Gueye’s are becoming much more of a rarity. Hopefully the Toffees and their supporters can acknowledge that.
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