| Francis Jeffers | |||
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Shirt Number: 9 Position: Forward Date of Birth: January 25 1981 Birthplace: Liverpool Height: 5'10" Profile: One of the best young strikers in the Premiership, having been a prolific scorer at every level, came on as a substitute for the first team against Manchester United on Boxing Day 1997 but his bright future was nearly ruined by a career-threatening heart illness. He made a full recovery and broke into the first team during and struck up a superb partnership with Kevin Campbell. He hit the headlines at the start of the 1999-2000 season when he stunned Everton by handing in a transfer request prompted by a dispute over pay. Matters were resolved and he returned to partner Campbell as Everton made one of their best starts to the season in years. His season was later wrecked by recurring injuries but the youngster showed his characteristics of quality finishing and an eye for the run of his fellow attackers. The first half of the 2000-2001 season was also ravaged by injury after a blistering start. He returned to the first team in February 2001 - and promptly scored eight minutes in to his first game. Classy. As the season ended, it became clear that Jeffers was not planning to stay at Goodison Park, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger paid �8million to bring his goalscoring instincts to Highbury in summer 2001. |
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