‘Don’t know’: Manager says he signed £7.5m Everton player with a long-term injury

Despite having a long-term injury, Everton sold Tom Cannon for £7.5 million.

Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca has revealed that they signed the striker despite knowing he was injured.

Cannon has only made four senior appearances for Everton since graduating from their system, but his outstanding loan spell at Preston North End piqued the interest of many clubs this summer.

After scoring eight goals for the Lilywhites in the second part of last season, a number of Championship clubs were vying to recruit Cannon on loan.

Despite appearing ready to rejoin Preston for the majority of the transfer window, Leicester eventually won the race and paid £7.5 million to secure him on a permanent basis.

Cannon, on the other hand, is yet to make his debut for the Foxes, and Maresca has now revealed why.

Maresca told BBC Radio Leicester: “Just because it’s a long-term investment doesn’t mean we don’t need him now.”

“However, we prefer to be cautious and conduct all necessary checks.”

“When he signed, we discovered an issue. He’s not even training with us right now, so I’m guessing it’ll be a while.

 

“When he signed, we discovered an issue. He’s not even training with us right now, so I’m guessing it’ll be a while.

“We don’t know how long.” He did not participate in any training sessions with us.”

According to reports, Cannon has a stress fracture in his back that will take at least six to eight weeks to repair. This implies he might not be able to return to action until November/December.

Did Everton do well to earn £7.5m from Cannon’s exit?

Everton’s ability to command such a high sum for an unproven striker, especially given his lengthy injury, appears to be rather amazing.

Leicester, on the other hand, definitely have enough firepower to keep them going till he returns, and the Toffees may regret trading him if he helps the team back to the Premier League.

He is obviously a big potential and might have been a key player at Goodison Park in the future, however Sean Dyche’s side did include a sell-on clause in the contract.