In light of Burton Albion deciding to take a punt on former Everton striker Oumar Niasse, there still remains questions surrounding his struggles on Merseyside.
After signing from Russian outfit Lokomotiv Moscow in January 2016 for a hefty £13.5 million fee, the Senegalese forward struggled to ever make a substantial impact at The Toffees appearing just 42 times in his four-year stint at the club.
Niasse joined Everton with a big reputation, winning the Russian Premier League Player of the Year in 2015 but struggled to find his feet in his first season with The Blues under manager at the time, Roberto Martinez.
His difficulties worsened when Ronald Koeman took over in the summer of 2016, with Niasse claiming his new boss took a disliking to him straight away.
He described Koeman as “difficult” and stating in one situation he was told, “You don’t eat with us. You’re going to eat with U21s”.
Following his troubles with Koeman, Niasse was sent on loan to Hull City for the 2016/17 campaign where he showed glimpses of brilliance, scoring four goals in 12 Premier League starts, one of these coming in a 2-0 win over Liverpool.
With a successful loan stint under his belt and Sam Allardyce taking over Koeman as Everton boss, Niasse had his best season at the Goodison side in 2017/18, scoring eight Premier League goals in 22 appearances.
The striker is most memorably known for his empathic entrance as a substitute against Bournemouth, scoring twice to help his side win 2-1 after being a goal down.
The now 31-year-old was again sent out on loan for the rest of the season, this time to Cardiff City in January 2019 after falling out of favour following Carlo Ancelotti’s appointment as The Blue’s manager.
Niasse made 13 appearances for the Welsh club but was unable to prevent them from relegation from the top-flight.
After only making five appearances in all competitions in the 2019/20 campaign, Niasse was eventually released by Everton in June 2020.
With the forward without a club for nine months, Huddersfield Town decided to sign Niasse on a free transfer in March 2021 but a freak groin injury in a friendly meant he was never able to feature in a competitive game for The Terriers.
Most recently Burton manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has given the career of Niasse a lifeline after being released by Huddersfield at the end of the 2020/21 season, the former Chelsea forward offered Niasse a contract at The Brewers until the end of the 2022 campaign.
Hasselbaink said: “He’s been training with us for a short period and has shown a lot of hunger and desire to get back playing.”
