Everton’s pursuit of a Serie A winger has moved from ‘interest’ to firm discussions, and the man in question has taken one of the more unusual routes to a Premier League return.
Jonathan Rowe came through Norwich City’s academy and made his senior breakthrough during the Canaries’ 2023/24 Championship campaign, scoring 12 league goals and picking up the club’s Young Player of the Season award.
His exit from Carrow Road was not straightforward. With Leeds and Marseille both circling in August 2024, Rowe was left out of Norwich’s squad entirely for the opening-day defeat at Oxford United.
Then head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup said Rowe had come to him that morning and admitted he was not ready to play amid the speculation, and he never featured for the club again before a £17m move to Marseille was completed.
The France move brought mixed fortunes. Rowe managed just three goals in 28 Ligue 1 appearances on loan, and his eventual permanent transfer unravelled fast: a dressing-room argument with Adrien Rabiot following Marseille’s opening-day defeat to Rennes saw both players transfer-listed within days.
Bologna moved quickly to take advantage, and the switch to Serie A has revived his career. Rowe contributed eight goals and five assists across all competitions last season, adapting to a more disciplined, tactically structured system than the one he left behind in France.
The qualities
Rowe’s biggest asset remains his pace in behind. He is comfortable on either flank but is most effective cutting in from the left, looking to run at defenders rather than combine in tight areas. He has described himself as a flair player, and that shows: he takes players on regularly and is willing to shoot from distance. Everton believe his profile suits David Moyes’s preference for pace and directness in the final third.
The weaknesses
The pattern is now familiar enough to be a concern rather than a one-off. Jonathan Rowe has left two clubs in two years amid disputes — first engineering his own exit from Norwich, then falling out with a senior teammate at Marseille.
His end product also remains unproven at the highest level; a single productive Championship season aside, his goal contributions in France and Italy have been modest relative to the hype.
Everton would be buying pace, flair and a point to prove as much as the finished article, and at a reported £42m for a player Bologna signed only a year ago, it is a big bet on temperament as well as talent.
Man United’s interest adds urgency to Everton’s move, though our Everton transfer tracker suggests Moyes’s side are currently the more advanced in talks.
