but David Moyes only invited my team

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I was close to signing for Everton - but David Moyes only invited my team-mate to his house

Kyle Walker has revealed he was close to signing for the Blues before his move to Tottenham Hotspur

Kyle Walker said he almost signed for Everton but turned the club down because another transfer target was given preferential treatment. Walker said the Blues were close to securing him as clubs fought to take him from Sheffield United back in 2009, when he was 19.

But when fellow Blades talent Kyle Naughton was invited to the home of then boss David Moyes - and Walker was not - he opted to pursue the interest shown in him by Tottenham Hotspur. In the end, both Walker and Naughton - who Everton agreed a fee with Sheffield United for - joined Spurs.

Speaking on his BBC podcast, You'll Never Beat Kyle Walker, Walker told his guest - former Everton captain Phil Jagielka: “I was close to signing for Everton before I signed for Tottenham. Just to let you know.”

At the time Naughton, then 20, was considered the bigger talent of the two having made 50 senior appearances across the defence and midfield.

Walker continued: “Naughts went to his house. Naughts went to Moyes’ house and he never invited me. So I went down… to Tottenham and I was like, OK, they like me more, so I signed for Tottenham.”

Walker went on to become an integral part of the England set up while with Spurs before moving to Manchester City. There, he has clocked up six Premier League titles and two FA Cups alongside multiple other trophies. He was part of the Champions League winning side that included former Everton defender John Stones and Erling Haaland - another player Everton once looked at.

The tale of Walker and Naughton echoes that told by Arsenal’s FA-Cup hero Aaron Ramsey on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football this week. Now back at boyhood club Cardiff City, the midfielder spoke of how he too visited Moyes’ home before opting to sign for the Gunners as clubs battled to take him from south Wales.