‘A big reason’ - Tom Davies opens up on Everton to Sheffield United transfer move

Tom Davies has opened up on his time at Everton and has revealed why he chose to move to Sheffield United rather than signing a new deal at the club.

The 25-year-old left Goodison Park this summer when his contract expired after spending 14 years at the club.

Davis broke into the first-team squad in 2015 and went onto make 159 appearances for the club, scoring seven times.

There was interest from Rangers in the January window but a move never materialised. Then Sheffield United came knocking this summer and he’s revealed he’s looking for a more settled club to be at.

“It’s hard for a footballer to reach their potential when they are constantly being changed around and there is people coming and going and you’re trying to make connections with different team-mates, different managers, different formations.

“For me, I think that [stability] is a big thing I need and just knowing I fit into a team and they want me to be here for the player I am. That then gives you the confidence to express yourself on the pitch.”

“It was definitely a new step and a challenge for me,” he told Stadium Astro. “It was a natural step for me to take and one I was happy to take because I want to look after myself first and put my career first. I think for me to come here, it was by doing that.

“It is always difficult leaving your first club and your boyhood club, but it’s one [decision] I am happy I’ve made and I’m glad to be here.”

That move keeps him in the Premier League but he faces another relegation battle, as the Yorkshire side are up against it already sat in 17th place, winless after four games.

And Davies spoke on how his new club see him playing further up the pitch, rather than in a deeper role that he was tasked with during the last few campaigns.

“I’ve always seen myself as a box-to-box midfielder,” he explained. “When I first broke into the team at Everton, it was more to do with the attacking side and I would play a lot more offensively than the last few years where I dropped into a deeper role. That’s where I see myself playing [advanced] and Sheffield United have noticed that in me too.

“It was a big reason why I wanted to come here. He [Paul Heckingbottom] has seen the same things I see in myself and was really keen to develop them. The plan he showed me made sense. That development for myself and the confidence of backing my own game, that I know I have, was a massive reason I came here.”