Since leaving Goodison Park, this former Toffees midfielder has dominated in terms of assists.
In the most recent transfer window, Sean Dyche strengthened his Everton team by bringing in young foreign attacking talents like Beto and seasoned players like Ashley Young to give his team a nice balance ahead of the anticipated fight against relegation.
Other transfer windows, such as the summer 2018/19 window, when Everton splashed out big money on Lucas Digne and Yerry Mina from Barcelona while also raiding the former team of manager Marco Silva, Watford, for Richarlison, generated more hype with the players brought into the building compared to Dyche’s more understated approach.
Before recently leaving for new horizons, all three players would go on to have successful careers while donning Everton blue over a number of seasons.
Bernard’s career appeared to have fallen by the wayside during an up-and-down period in Merseyside, but the offensive midfielder has managed to turn his fortunes around. He was a forgotten name from that same transfer window.
How much did Everton spend on Bernard?
The 5-foot-5 winger, who joined the Toffees in 2018, was a free agent after a standout season with Shakhtar Donetsk. He was signed by Everton.
Bernard scored nine goals for the Ukrainian team overall during the 2017–18 season, including one against Manchester City in a Champions League group stage match when Donetsk defeated the City team 2-1.
At the time, the attacking midfielder’s free transfer to Everton seemed like a low-risk, high-reward move for the Toffees.
Why did Everton sell Bernard?
Bernard did not immediately falter in an Everton uniform; in fact, he played in all but four of the Toffees’ Premier League matches in the 2018–19 season. However, after Carlo Ancelotti took over as manager, Bernard’s days as an Everton player were numbered.
The Brazilian midfielder would only make 12 appearances and play a total of 448 minutes during his final campaign on Merseyside.
He was very much a player given a few minutes here and there off the bench towards the end of his three-season stay with the Blues, never making it back into the starting lineup.
Although he only made 87 starts for the club, he still managed to contribute when needed, leaving the Premier League with eight goals and seven assists.
In 2021, Bernard would depart Everton for the United Arab Emirates, where he reportedly would receive a sizable salary in exchange for leaving Merseyside.
How has Bernard performed since leaving Everton?
Since leaving Goodison Park, the 31-year-old has traveled the world, playing for Panathinaikos and Sharjah in Greece and the United Arab Emirates, respectively.
When compared statistically to English winger Dwight McNeil, who is still with the Toffees, the deft Brazilian is currently exceeding him.
Since leaving Everton, he has scored 11 goals and assisted on another 11 goals, out-assisting McNeil by a significant margin. He had five assists in the previous season compared to McNeil’s three in 2022–23, who was not at the top of his creative game.
The former Donetsk player has been productive in other ways as well, scoring three goals for the Greens of Panathinaikos in Super League 1 so far this season.
The 31-year-old Bernard, who left the Toffees under Rafa Benitez for a cost around £1 million, has excelled away from Goodison Park and Everton may use his expertise as another offensive option in their current lineup.
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