The distance between the two venues can be measured in yards. But the list of players who have moved directly from Everton to Liverpool is very short. Very short indeed.
Certainly during the Premier League era, where both Nick Barmby and Abel Xavier made the switch from Goodison to Anfield at the start of the millennium. That, though, is it. And before then, you have to go way back to Dave Hickson in 1959 for such a transfer to be completed.
Neither Barmby nor Xavier lasted too long at Liverpool, the former making 58 appearances before joining Leeds United while the latter managed just 21, all of which were inside 11 months.
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And there has subsequently been little appetite for such moves, although admittedly the gap in quality between the respective squads on Merseyside in recent years has lessened the desire for a cross-Stanley Park deal, at least in that direction.
Regardless, though, the current climate would make it extremely difficult if borderline impossible for a player to directly move from Everton to Liverpool. The hassle, for the most part, would not be worth it. Particularly for a homegrown talent.
Which brings us to former Blues and current Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon, who has been linked with potential interest from the Reds this summer.
That the Liverpool recruitment team – led by new Fenway Sports Group head of football Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes – will be assessing Gordon is a no-brainer, given his Liverpool links and undoubted quality. Incoming manager Arne Slot will also surely be aware of the 23-year-old.
Gordon, of course, is a boyhood Liverpool fan, having started his youth career there before joining Everton as an 11-year-old after being released by the Reds. And given speculation over the long-term future of Luis Diaz while, on the other flank, Mohamed Salah is now well into his thirties, Liverpool will already be looking at bringing in the next generation of their forward line.
Perhaps that won’t come this summer, not least because Newcastle United would rather not sell one of their most prized assets – who arrived from Everton in a £45million deal in January 2023 – to a perceived rival, even if financial rules mean they may have to cash in on one player in the near future. And Gordon himself has spoken about benefiting from stepping away from Merseyside and being able to concentrate more on his game.
But history suggests it shouldn’t be completely discounted in the long term, should Liverpool decide to take a closer look at Gordon.
The indirect path from Everton to Liverpool has most famously been trodden twice before. David Johnson, another Reds supporter, began his career at Everton for whom he scored a derby winner as a 20-year-old in 1970. Bill Shankly failed in an attempt to sign Johnson, who then spent four years at Ipswich Town before moving to Liverpool, where he won multiple championships and European Cups.
In the next decade, Steve McMahon began at boyhood club Everton but, when he opted to leave in 1983, he chose Aston Villa ahead of Liverpool, partly due to the obvious issues in making a direct move across Stanley Park. Instead, he switched to Anfield two years later and became a mainstay of the team that won three league titles and two FA Cups.
With both transfers, there was a significant period between playing for the two Merseyside clubs. And while any move for Gordon could ultimately depend on the player agitating for a move, his appearing for Liverpool makes sense to one former Everton winger.
“I don’t think Evertonians have forgiven him for what happened at the end of his career there yet!” says Pat Nevin, speaking to Prime Slots UK. “Anthony is quite special, he breaks lines all the time and he reminds me of Jack Grealish before he went to Manchester City from Aston Villa.
“This rumour (about Liverpool) doesn’t surprise me, nor do I think it should be dismissed. He has phenomenal skills, and he has the ability to beat players. Too often, wingers will bring the ball up the pitch, before turning back and laying off a simple pass and removing the danger.
“You don’t pay 100 million quid for a winger to stop and turn back, you pay that money for someone that can break lines, drag people across and create. These players are a rarity in modern football and that is who the money is being spent on.
“How long has Mo Salah got left at Liverpool, and is he still as dynamic as he once was back in the day? He’s still brilliant, but he won’t last forever and Liverpool need to think about the future. It would not shock me at all, because I think he is that good.”
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
