Sam Allardyce is convinced that Everton secured Theo Walcott for a bargain £25million thanks to his exemplary record at Arsenal.
Everton agreed a deal worth an initial £20m, with a further £5m in potential add-ons, to secure the signature of Walcott, who scored 19 goals in 37 appearances last season, ahead of rival interest from the England international’s former club Southampton.
Walcott already looks like repaying that investment, scoring twice in a midweek win over Leicester ahead of Saturday’s return to Arsenal. In a rapidly inflating market it was immediately clear to Allardyce that the 28-year-old’s price tag represented fine value for money.
“I can’t say what Arsene thinks but the opportunity to take a player with last season’s goals record and that quality wasn’t a big decision for me,” said the Everton manager.
“I think a lot of negotiation was done by Theo,” added Allardyce.
“Because of his service to the club and the fact he would accept what Arsene was doing, he is not a troublesome player who would throw the toys out of the pram.
“That respect between him and the club resulted in the move. There are no easy negotiations with Arsenal, believe you me, but eventually the negotiations got to where we did and the insistence for the first time ever from Theo that he wanted to leave, plus the respect they have for each other and the service he gave, probably was a factor.”
Walcott struggled for first-team opportunities in his final season at Arsenal, playing just over an hour of football in the Premier League, and for much of his 12 years faced questions over whether he had fulfilled the potential that convinced Arsene Wenger to commit £12m to him as a 16-year-old and Sven-Goran Eriksson to take him to the World Cup before he had played in the Premier League.
But Walcott left Arsenal with 108 goals and two FA Cup winners medals to his name and Allardyce is in no doubt as to his worth.
“A lot of things have been said about Theo – he hasn't reached his full potential and all that – but I don't know how you could say that after last season's performance with 30-plus games and 19 goals.
“I think if he'd have been playing a lot this year he would have been happy to finish his career at Arsenal.
“This time around, because he wasn't getting his game time, he looked at his career and decided he had to leave. He chose us and hopefully he'll be a big player for us.”
