Seasons2019-20Everton News
The reason why Shani Tarashaj is still an Everton player

The reason why Swiss International striker Shani Tarashaj is still technically an Everton player for another year, despite his original contract expiring this month, has now been revealed.
The Echo says it was all about Marcel Brands bending over backwards to structure a palatable loan deal that would be good enough for FC Emmen to take the unwanted Everton player on a unique extended 2-year loan this time last year.
It's now 4½ years since the largely unknown forward was signed up in an ambitious move by Roberto Martinez for a reported £3.9m fee before the club loaned him straight back to Grasshopper Zurich for the remainder of the 2015-16 season. This was a condition of the deal that would allow Tarashaj to complete his National Service.
Tarashaj would go to Euro2016 with the Swiss national side, ending Albania's hopes that he might elect to represent them, but only got one minute on the pitch at the end of a group game before Switzerland were eliminated in the Round of 16.
He then featured in Everton's 2016 pre-season preparations before he picked up a minor injury and was not a part of new manager Ronald Koeman's first-team plans as the season kicked off. On transfer deadline day, he joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a season-long loan.
But Tarashaj had to wait until the middle of September 2016 to even start training with them after suffering with benign angina. He would miss another five games after having to have his tonsils removed. Then a serious knee problem required surgery and it would sideline him for the remainder of the year. His recovery would take up most of the 2016-17 season, spent behind the scenes at Finch Farm.
More than 2 years after signing for Everton, he finally got to play in a competitive game, appearing as a surprise second striker for David Unsworth's Under-23s but getting pulled at half-time after a very unimpressive performance in a shocking 0-4 home loss to West Ham United.
Everton off-loaded Shani back to his old club in Zurich at the beginning of the 2018-19 season, for another season-long loan. He made three early-season sub appearances for Grasshoppers, and then injured his foot in August and was out for a significant period.
Tarashaj's final 12 months at Everton were restructured in July 2019 so that his £780,000 annual salary (£15,000 per week) would be spread across 2 years, rather than 1 year, in order to help ensure the loan deal with Emmen could be concluded.
Emmen have picked up a percentage of the player's wages, with unconfirmed reports saying they have paid £500,000 to Everton, while the Blues did not incur any new agent's fees for reworking the contract. But he would not register a single game for Emmen before the season ended early with the lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tarashaj, who has never played a first-team game for the Blues, will remain with Emmen until the end of next season, after which he will finally leave Everton in June 2021.
Reader Comments (27)
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2 Posted 27/06/2020 at 19:52:49
3 Posted 27/06/2020 at 20:19:20
4 Posted 27/06/2020 at 22:04:05
5 Posted 27/06/2020 at 22:17:05
6 Posted 27/06/2020 at 22:25:29
Don't get me started on Mirallas, Niasse, Garbutt, and all the others from the past 5 years! And yet Kenwright is STILL well thought of amongst some blues... unbelievable!
7 Posted 27/06/2020 at 23:20:00
He was pretty good in 2016-17 and not good in 2017-18 which was his last. Just think about this. We got a skillful goalscoring winger for ٥ million and now we got a winger for 㿊 million in Iwobi who isn't skillful and doesn't score goals. And I don't care if he is suited to central attacking midfield.... he's still a terrible signing.
8 Posted 27/06/2020 at 23:22:06
9 Posted 27/06/2020 at 23:23:17
My thoughts exactly.
10 Posted 27/06/2020 at 00:05:50
Resale proceeds £2.5 million.
It's mind boggling and we haven't even factored in Tosun, Walcott and Klaassen. Take them into the equation and you're well on the way to Quarter of a Billion pounds!!!!!!!
11 Posted 28/06/2020 at 01:07:53
12 Posted 28/06/2020 at 17:01:48
13 Posted 28/06/2020 at 23:25:55
The post was really to point out just what an enormous amount of money we have wasted on poor playing purchases in the last few years. I can't believe we did better under Moyes with his meagre net transfer spend.
I think it shows the DoF role is highly questionable to be perfectly honest. We have no idea what Brands' or Walsh's desired style of play that the Coach is supposed to produce, with supposedly carefully selected purchases to fit that remit.
I've nothing against Marcel, but so far he's not done a great deal better than Walsh to influence an improvement on the pitch. We are stuck in mid table and if it wasn't for Ancelotti what reasons would you have to be optimistic on that improving? Very few I'd say.
14 Posted 29/06/2020 at 01:25:00
15 Posted 29/06/2020 at 06:22:36
16 Posted 29/06/2020 at 12:31:37
Besic had had a good World Cup for Bosnia, marking Messi out of a game, so another good signing, at the time. Same with Sandro, a cheap buy out clause for a guy who had just scored 15 goals in La Liga for Malaga.
It's the Chairman's job to pick the manager and give him autonomy over signings within a budget, so you can't blame Bill Kenwright either.
All clubs gamble and lose in the market. Liverpool with Andy Carroll, Chelsea with Torres, Barcelona with Coutinho spring to mind. Chelsea with Salah and De Bruyne outgoing.
17 Posted 29/06/2020 at 13:21:01
They wasted millions in the likes of El-Hadji Diouf, Le-Tallec, Sinema Pongolle, Eric Mejer, Stewart Downing, Paul Konchesky and countless other woeful players.
They were lucky in that the occasional good signing did come in, and that the League was much less competitive.
I remember when we were linked with Bolasie, I thought "this is the type of player Liverpool would've signed before". And he turned out exactly as I imagined (even worse due to the injury).
This Swiss lad at least was low cost teenager, and sometimes a risk like that is worth it i.e. Holgate, DCL, and Stones.
18 Posted 29/06/2020 at 13:43:58
In that respect, Sandro stands out as a total disaster.
19 Posted 29/06/2020 at 14:00:26
It is hit and miss too. You can reduce the risk through good scouting, by finding players who fit the system and playing environment and by having a clear route to the first team (even if it means loans).
Obviously Tarashaj proved a complete failure. All clubs have similar failures. It's a relatively cheap failure however in the context of football transfers.
Tarashaj was touted as a big new prospect with other big clubs in for him. Niasse, who we bought around the same time, was a journeyman in his mid-20s who scored a good but not amazing haul in a weak league.
Niasse was a blatant mistake but Tarashaj was a more forgivable failure. I'd still rather our young signings come from UK leagues though in the -main – with the 21- to 24-year-olds bought in from abroad after showing some first-team quality.
20 Posted 29/06/2020 at 16:55:43
With Roberto at the helm and Bill in the background I really think we would have won the league within 3 years.
21 Posted 29/06/2020 at 17:06:52
22 Posted 29/06/2020 at 18:10:16
23 Posted 29/06/2020 at 20:37:39
In the scheme of things I can't believe his wages would make much of a difference unless we hope he may come good and we could get a fee for him in another year?
Other than Lukaku we had a very poor recruitment record under Martinez. I think that's possibly why the director of football was introduced.
We wasted money on crock or rubbish ex-Wigan players from our ex-Wigan manager. All very suspect.
Then there were several other youngsters recruited for multiple millions when we could simply have splashed the cash on established players in the Championship, Scottish Premier league, Germany, Spain etc.
As if to prove how NOT to do it, we appoint a scout as DoF and waste tens of millions on the wrong positions and still largely unproven players not fit or good enough for the Premier league.
Why players and all other football saff are not handed performance related contracts I can't understand it.
24 Posted 29/06/2020 at 22:35:57
Clive #12. So when Johnson refused to sign players requested by Joe Royle,the chairman was wrong. And you then blame the chairman for signing players requested by Martinez.
In other words, in your view, they cannot win.
25 Posted 30/06/2020 at 06:57:53
We've appointed poor managers who were barely given any transfer funds and those players we did sign appear to be on a play today pay tomorrow basis subject to the Banks permission after the August repayment being made. Then there is the case(s) of takeovers at Goodison from "Fortress" Willi Steele, a lifelong Evertonian who barely remembered 1966 Cup Final, the unemployed bloke in his one bedroom flat to the Arabs who decamped to Maine Road. Not to mention the super-duper lawn mowers, the poor marketing performance and sponsorship deals, British Virgin Islands loans, ring-fenced funds for a new ground and almost invisible Directors.
Mind you, he did make a lovely speech after that Wimbledon game!
26 Posted 30/06/2020 at 13:15:04
It seems like the lad was sensible and thinking bigger picture. His career is in tatters and he needed to take action to resurrect it and the Dutch league is a good place and standard to do just that.
Fair play to Shani and good luck to him.
27 Posted 30/06/2020 at 23:19:02
I think his loan to the Bundesliga was a smart one, but then his career was torpedoed by injuries. The signing had potential, but then the wheels completely came off. These things happen, unfortunately.
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1 Posted 27/06/2020 at 19:02:39
Can we please just stop already?
Stop with these ridiculous stories about supposed Everton players that just aren't real. I mean seriously, we bought the guy so he can finish his National Services?!? WTF?!?!
He's good enough for the high-flying Swiss team but, in 4½ years, has not played a single first-team game for the Blues. Not ever. And we're giving him ١½ MILLION in cold hard cash... The world has gone fucking mad. Fucking totally fucking mad.
I really do despair when I read utter shite like this that our highly praised managers got us into. How many is this now? I think I just have to lie down behind the sofa for a while...