HE was the man supposedly not worth taking a risk on. But now Louis Saha has become the player Everton cannot afford to be without.
Barely 18 months after leaving Manchester United, the France striker has reinvigorated his career after spending more time out of the treatment room and on the pitch.
Saha makes his first return to Old Trafford this evening while in the midst of his best-ever start to a Premier League season.
The 31-year-old’s strike against West Ham United a fortnight ago was his seventh league goal – and ninth in all competitions – of a productive campaign that has seen him become an integral part of David Moyes’s plans.
Not bad for a player that many were warning Moyes against taking on given an injury-ravaged four-year spell at United that led even Sir Alex Ferguson to cut his losses.
Everton brokered a pay-as-he-plays deal with their North West counterparts, and it’s a price the Goodison outfit are happy to play if Saha continues to deliver on such a regular basis.
“We paid nothing for Louis,” says Moyes. “There wasn’t a nominal fee. All we do is pay Manchester United when he plays for us. It was nothing.
“But we took a gamble on Louis, undoubtedly. He had been injury-prone but as well as that we had a situation where we had to take a gamble because we didn’t have any money to buy a centre forward.
“Louis at that time was available and it was a risk, not because of his ability but because of his injuries. We had to decide whether it was an ongoing problem at this stage of his career and Louis convinced me that it wasn’t, and he’s gone on to prove that.
“He’s a highly-strung athlete who wants to be at his best, wants to feel his best, and because of that sometimes he doesn’t quite make it for games but he’s been very good for us.”
Moyes adds: “I don’t think he’s got anything to prove. He’s played World Cup semi-finals and he’s been a top player who got a transfer to Manchester United. I think he would like to turn around and say he isn’t injury-prone and he’s over his injury problems now.
“I think everybody at Manchester United would probably admit that Louis Saha was a match for any player there with the talent and ability he’s got.
