Moise Kean Reflects on Everton Struggles: “It Made Me Who I Am”

Fiorentina striker Moise Kean credits his challenging spell at Everton for shaping his resilience and drive, saying it prepared him for the remarkable start he’s had this season. The 24-year-old Italian has already netted 11 goals in 14 games in the 2024-25 season, a stark contrast to his modest four goals in 39 appearances during his time at Everton.

Kean joined Everton in the summer of 2019 from Juventus for a £27 million fee, but his time on Merseyside was far from smooth. Amid managerial changes and limited playtime, Kean found it difficult to make his mark, eventually heading back to Juventus on a two-year loan deal in 2021 following a loan spell at Paris Saint-Germain in 2020-21.

Reflecting on his time at Everton, Kean said, “Out of all the experiences I’ve had, you won’t ever hear me say I had a bad one,” he told The Athletic. “I find positives in all of them. If I hadn’t spent that year at Everton, I wouldn’t have learned the things I did there.”

Kean admitted that he initially had high hopes upon joining Everton at just 19. “I was a bit unlucky. I went there expecting to play a bit more. I joined from Juve and thought I was going to smash it,” he explained. “Unfortunately, it didn’t go like that. We went through three coaches that year and mentally… it was all new for me. I was in England, it was a new environment.”

Despite the challenges, Kean said his time in England forced him to mature and learn patience. “England made me learn a lot about myself,” he said. “I used to think, ‘How am I not getting into this team, at Everton?’ Mentally, it made me evolve. I wasn’t playing, and it was in dark times that I knew I had to grit my teeth and train even more.”

That perseverance ultimately led him to PSG, where he found a fresh start and regained his form. “I knew I had to give triple,” Kean recalled. “That’s how it went.”