CONFIRMED: Jean-Philippe Gbamin leaves Everton for Trabzonspor on loan

Everton are yet to officially acknowledge it, but midfielder Jean-Phillippe Gbamin has joined Turkish side Trabzonspor on loan for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.

After having spent the remainder of the ‘21-22 season on loan away in the Russian Premier League with CSKA Moscow, the former Ivory Coast international was part of the Everton traveling squad that went to the United States, but failed to impress Frank Lampard and the coaching staff while there.

His spell in Moscow started off well enough though rumours that he wasn’t training well and was more renowned for his extra-curricular activities in the Russian capital dogged him as he picked up two goals and two assists in his thirteen games there.

The 26-year-old joined the Toffees in 2019, but has only played eight times for the Blues after being plagued by a series of unfortunate injuries that have required surgery and intensive rehabilitation in that time. Five of those appearances came last season, including three in the league.

His spot in the squad was under threat then following the addition of fellow midfielders Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli during the January transfer window, but Tom Davies was dropped out of the 25-man Premier League squad following his surgery. This season the addition of Amadou Onana made him expendable, and the rumours that the Blues are about to bring back Idrissa Gueye pretty much sealed Gbamin’s fate.

Gbamin still has two years remaining on his five-year contract with Everton, but will have the opportunity to play in the Europa League with the runaway Turkish champions, who are drawn in Group H (alongside Crvena zvezda, AS Monaco and Ferencvaros) of Europe’s second tier competition after failing to make it through to the group stages proper of the Champions League.