£25m Everton flop finally finds new club in Ligue 2 after nightmare spell in England

Former Everton midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin has finally found a new club after departing in the summer after his contract expired.

After four years at the club, he has joined Ligue 2 side USL Dunkerque on a free transfer on a one-year-deal.

It's also a return to French football for the defensive midfielder, who played 99 times for Lens in what was his first club after graduating from the academy. Dunkerque currently sit 19th in the table with just two wins from 13 games so far.

Gbamin, 28, joined the Toffees from Mainz in 2019 for a fee around £25m but, incredibly, he went on to play just eight times in total due to a disastrous spell of injuries that restricted him from ever launching his career on Merseyside.

He was sent on loan twice during that time to Trabzonspor last season and CSKA Moscow where he managed 24 and 13 appearances respectively but injuries plagued him whenever he returned to Everton.

A lengthy list of injuries from his time at Everton show that injuries affected him from the very start. On arrival, he suffered a hamstring injury which kept him out from August 2019 until April 2020, before then rupturing his Achilles tendon a month later which then kept him out until April of 2021.

His mightily unlucky run continued as he then suffered an inner ligament injury which kept him out for a further two months.

His agent Bernard Collignon told BBC Sport earlier this summer that the midfielder was looking to move from the club: "It is unbelievable what has happened at Everton," added Collignon. "Jean-Philippe is so disappointed with everything that has happened and how things have not worked out for him.

"The reason he suffered his initial injury was because he was not fit. That is why he got injured. They had to give him time and not rush him back into action.

"The club should have let him play in reserve games to achieve full fitness and also to gain confidence so that he would be ready for the intensity of the Premier League."

He also said that, originally, there was interest from the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and even Liverpool but Everton was seen as a stepping stone to greater things.

But, after just eight appearances, one assist and just 329 minutes of action in a Blue shirt, he now gets the chance to reignite his career in France's second-tier.