Adam Lallana admits he was gutted when Everton signed £15m player in 2022

Everton have made some high-profile transfer errors over the years, but under Kevin Thelwell, they have become far rarer.

After all, he is not quite blessed with the same never-ending riches as those who came before him, instead being forced to clean up their financial mess.

But that’s not to suggest that his tenure has been completely flawless thus far, with one or two disappointments slipping through the net.

Adam Lallana did not like seeing Neal Maupay leave

Speaking to Brighton and Hove Albion’s official YouTube channel, the former Liverpool midfielder opened up on everything from his future plans to his career thus far.

Having moved to the south coast in 2020, injuries have curtailed what once seemed destined to be a really positive career in the Premier League.

However, he still looks back on his time in the division fondly, despite admitting he did incur a few explosive arguments.

He recalled one particular period, where he and Neal Maupay butted heads regularly. But in the end, he was still gutted to see him leave, joining Everton in 2022 for £15m.

Lallana claimed: ‘I’ll openly say it. Me and Neal Maupay had a couple of big big bust-ups early on. I’ve got a good relationship with Neal now and when he left I was actually sad to see him leave because I thought, Neal just became a different person in the end.

‘But in the beginning, we had different views on how we saw the game, so that was exhausting in the first season whilst we were deep in a relegation battle.’

Everton will want to cash in on Neal Maupay this summer

It’s fair to say that, in hindsight, many Evertonians will feel now how Lallana did back then: sad to see him at Everton.

After all, it has just not worked out for the Frenchman, who has failed to provide that finishing touch, link-up play or physicality needed to thrive for Frank Lampard or Sean Dyche who followed him.

The latter in particular now boasts a system that thrives off a dominant centre forward, making Maupay the antithesis to such a philosophy.

He stands at just 5 foot 8, and across the entire 2022/23 Premier League season, he scored just one goal.

A loan spell with Brentford this term has seen those figures increase, having now notched six goals, but it is still far from outstanding. Hopefully, Thelwell can try and find a viable buyer for him this summer, and free up crucial funds to reinvest elsewhere.