Previously linked to a £10million move to Manchester United, where he was once touted as a long-term successor to David Beckham, in May 2005 David Moyes paid £3.5million to bring Simon Davies to Goodison from Tottenham Hotspur. The versatile midfielder, who could play at right wing, wing back or through the centre, had started out at Peterborough United in the late 1990s, before George Graham brought him to White Hart Lane in a double deal with fellow teenage wide man, Matthew Etherington. Hopes that the Welsh international would bring additional pace and creativity to the Everton midfield were soon confounded, however. 

Davies had spent his latter years at Spurs in the thrall of injury and this seemed to have diminished the acceleration and dynamism that had previously seen him so highly rated. Only one goal in an Everton shirt points at his lack of potency and it is difficult to recall what he actually brought to a blue shirt. Although David Moyes initially maintained his patience with Davies, his inclusion ahead of the underrated Leon Osman seemed difficult to justify and he was eventually dropped. Chances in the 2006/07 season were limited as Moyes seemed to settle on a successful formation without the need for Davies, and in the following January’s transfer window when a £2.5million bid came in from Fulham it seemed like good business for the Everton manager to cut his losses.