Sean Dyche’s side lost 2-0 to Forest and Maupay used the result to take a dig at the club with a post on his X account expressing his joy in their loss.
The striker is still technically employed by the Merseyside club after joining Marseille on a season-long loan deal in the summer and, although the deal is set to become permanent when his contract expires in June, he is still a Blues player for now.
Writing in the i paper (30 December), journalist Douglas revealed there is little Everton can realistically do as he said: “The club are aware of Maupay’s post and intend to deal with it internally.
“Probably wisely, they don’t seem to want to give him the publicity he so clearly craves for whatever kind of “banter” brand he is trying to build.
“Even if Everton wanted to, there is no realistic recourse for Maupay’s post.
“The deal thrashed out with Marseille means the French club pay 100 per cent of his wages, and the loan automatically becomes a permanent deal at the end of the season when his three-year contract at Goodison Park expires.”
Neal Maupay secures his legacy at Everton
Maupay was already an unpopular figure at Goodison Park and the striker has ensured there will be no love lost between him and the supporters as he is set to leave the club on a permanent basis in the summer.
The club have said the matter will be dealt with internally, but it is hard to see what sort of punishment they can actually administer on the Frenchman, who is – thankfully – well away from Goodison Park.
Therefore, while he is technically employed by the Blues, there is a lot of distance between the two parties now.
Douglas is right in what he says about the Toffees being wise not to let this blow up into a big thing as it seems that is exactly what the player wants and therefore, while his post was frustrating, there is no use in giving him the attention he craves.
The sooner all ties between the two parties are cut the better, with Maupay showing that he is exactly the sort of character the club simply do not want on the blue half of Merseyside.
