http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/everton-offer-baxter-deal-after-drug-ban-rr80fdzfw
Everton have made the surprise offer of a 12-month contract to their former player Jose Baxter which would begin when the midfielder’s one-year drugs ban expires in June.
Baxter began his career at Goodison Park and will return to Finch Farm for pre-season training when he will be assigned to David Unsworth’s under-23 squad. Depending on his progress, he could move up to Ronald Koeman’s first-team set-up.
He is a young man who is extremely talented. He has made a mistakeDenise Barrett-Baxendale
“I’m speechless,” said Baxter, who was playing for Sheffield United when testing positive for traces of cocaine in February last year after a night out and subsequently banned by an FA panel in August.
“Not many people get a second chance and here’s me with a third chance.”
Everton chairman Bill Kenwright came up with the idea in conjunction with Unsworth and the verbal offer was made yesterday morning by deputy chief executive Denise Barrett- Baxendale.
Baxter, 24, was
exclusively interviewed by
The Times in November about how he was coping in the aftermath of his ban and it was after reading the article that Kenwright reached out to a player who remains the youngest to have played for the club, having made his debut against Blackburn Rovers in August 2008 aged 16 and 191 days.
He has been told that he can train with Everton in pre-season once his ban is over, and Baxter was close to tears when informed that he would receive a formal contract.
“It can be anything he wants it to be,” Unsworth said. “As soon as he comes through the gates of Finch Farm in July, he will be treated like an under-23 player and we work very, very hard. It is up to him and down to his football performances. Nothing else.
Baxter is the youngest player to have represented Everton, making his debut in 2008 aged 16LAURENCE GRIFFITHS/GETTY IMAGES
“Jose will start with me and the under-23s. We can play three older players so that is not an issue. Then it is up to him.
“How quickly can he get back to fitness? How quickly can his performances get him to where he wants to be?
“It is important to say it will not be a first-team contract [in terms of finance].
“He will be given the same opportunities as everyone else. If that means he moves on to a Championship club or a League One club later on, that will be down to Jose.
“We want to help because that is the sort of club we are. He is one of our own, but I have said to Jose, in no uncertain terms, that this is your last chance.”
Baxter rejected a contract at Everton in 2012 because he wanted regular first-team opportunities and ended up at Oldham Athletic, after a trial at Crystal Palace, before moving to Sheffield United, for whom he scored at Wembley in an FA Cup semi-final in 2014.
Baxter will not be able to play for or train with a club until his suspension ends in JuneTONY MCARDLE/GETTY IMAGES
He escaped with a suspended punishment in 2015 after testing positive for ecstasy, a hearing accepting the explanation that his drink had been spiked on that occasion.
“The chairman wants Jose to have a one-year contract,” Barrett-Baxendale said. “It is not a superficial gesture. This is our football club. We are genuine and authentic.
“He is a young man who is extremely talented. He has made a mistake — young people do. In times of need, you turn to your family, so we want to help him get back into the game.
“He will have to work hard. We will expect more from him. It will not be an easy 12 months.”
The FA’s sanctions mean that Baxter is not allowed to play football or train with a club until his suspension ends on June 1.
Baxter has been training at a gym five days a week and fine-tuning his programme to incorporate more conditioning work in readiness for his return.
