Former Liverpool and current Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed he was stunned by Everton’s decision to sell Steven Naismith back in 2016 as he helps fire current club Hearts to leading the Scottish Premiership table.
The Toffees were reported by the BBC to have sold the Scotland international to Norwich City for a seven-figure fee of £8.5million in January 2016, having signed on a free from Rangers, and eventually made the move back north of the border to Hearts on loan from the Canaries at the start of 2018.
Speaking about his move away from Merseyside, ex-Premier League boss Rodgers revealed his shock at the fact the Toffees let him leave Goodison Park, insisting he had plenty to offer Everton as a player.
He was quoted by the Liverpool Echo as saying: “I think the catalyst for it all (at Hearts) is Steven Naismith. I was actually surprised when he left Everton in the first place to go to Norwich because I thought he was one of their key players.
“But I’ve got no doubts – without knowing him – of his influence because of the level he’s played at I’m sure along with the other players he’s definitely made them very strong.
“I always recognised him as a very good player. He had a good football brain, technically good with a good eye for goal. He works very hard and when I see him play he clearly looks after himself. He was a really good signing from Craig (Levein) to bring him in.”
Opinion
Rodgers might be impressed with Naismith but the same cannot be said about those at Goodison Park. He might have been a hard worker but his quality in comparison to the rest of the division was always lacking, and it is no surprise to see him playing back in Scotland now, where he is tearing the division up with 11 goals in 16 appearances across all competitions. That is almost half the amount of goals scored in his 126 Everton appearances, having netted 26 times for the Toffees, in one half of a season, and it goes to show the vast gulf in class between the two leagues. You would think that the Everton faithful would be delighted to see Naismith, who was always a hard worker for the club, stealing the limelight in Scotland now, and it is great for the neutrals among us that Hearts are shaking up what has been a seriously predictable title hunt for the last couple of years. Rodgers obviously seems afraid of Naismith, and with the form he is in, Celtic face a battle to catch the league leaders.