As underrated footballers go, Leon Osman is right up there.
In the heart of Everton’s midfield for over a decade, Osman’s passing and calmness in possession saw him become one of the club’s most consistent performers of the modern era.
His link up play with the likes of Steven Pienaar and Leighton Baines down Everton’s left was at times a joy to watch, and his proclivity to pop up with a goal from distance earned him many admirers at Goodison Park, with his Europa League strike against Greek outfit Larissa perhaps the most memorable.
Indeed, while Osman’s recognition beyond Merseyside may have been scant, with the Wigan-born midfielder waiting until the age of 31 to receive an England call-up, his contribution during his time at Everton was well appreciated by the fanbase.
However, it seems that any sentimentality for the academy graduate did not extend to the club’s management in the summer of 2016, when the midfielder discovered that he had been released after a friend sent him a text message after seeing the news on the club’s official website.
Osman was initially offered an extension by Roberto Martinez prior to his dismissal, but the in-coming Ronald Koeman had different plans. When asked if he fell through the cracks due to the managerial change, Osman said, “That was definitely the case. Roberto had said there was something and we discussed it and then Ronald Koeman came in and wanted to go a different way.
“That is part of football. It happens. I can’t say that Ronald Koeman was wrong because he was the new manager of a club and wanted to bring different types of players and different styles of players.
“It is what it is. That is football and life goes on and football goes on. Regardless, we still love our teams and to support our teams home and away.”
A player of Leon Osman’s calibre deserved much better than to discover he had been released in such an ignominious fashion, but it is little surprise that it occurred under Koeman’s stewardship, with the Dutchman never truly embracing life at Goodison Park.
However, if any player deserved more from the club, it was Leon Osman.