Neal Maupay trolls Fabrizio Romano after journalist reveals his transfer details

Fabrizio Romano reports that the Frenchman is scheduled for a medical and will be joining Olympique Marseille upon loan along with a buyout option. The former Brighton & Hove Albion player appeared to be relieved that he was finally getting out of Goodison Park when he tweeted a phrase from Romano's essay and shared a video of Shawshank protagonist Andy Dufresne rejoicing his release from prison.

Later, Romano stated that Maupay will agree to pay a €5.5 million (£4.6 million/$6 million) fixed charge in addition to a €500,000 loan fee as a condition of purchasing. In addition, there are €3 million in add-ons, and Everton has a 20% sell-on clause. This raises the total cost to €9 million (£7.5 million/$10 million) and helps them partially recover their 2022 purchase price.

During the Ligue 1 game on Saturday night versus Toulouse, Maupay might make his club debut if he does join Roberto De Zerbi's Olympique Marseille. If not, his debut for the French team might come on September 14 at home versus Nice in the league. Alongside Maupay would be a plethora of former English league players, such as Jonathan Rowe, Ismael Kone, Mason Greenwood, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. 

After head coach Sean Dyche stated that Everton had "no money" as they attempted to finalise a takeover, it is still unknown if the team will recruit a replacement striker. However, the club will prioritise adding a forward, maybe on loan, before Friday's transfer deadline of 23:00 BST.

“It was just a risk and reward scenario” : Sean Dyche

During his whole loan at Brentford last season, the attacker did not make an impression sufficient to warrant a permanent transfer. Neil Maupay was left off the Everton matchday roster for this week's Carabao Cup 2024–25 matchup against Doncaster. The Toffees defeated EFL League one side Doncaster 3-0 in their Carabao Cup second round matchup. After the game, Everton head coach spoke about Maupay’s absence.

The former Burnley manager said, "Possibly, it was just a risk and reward scenario (leaving him out against Doncaster), there is possibly something that is going to happen but we are waiting on that."