The making of the £60K bargain who became an Everton legend

The making of the £60K bargain who became an Everton legendImage source, Getty Images/InphoImage caption, Seamus Coleman has been at Everton for 16 years after signing from Sligo Rovers for £60,000ByAndy GrayBBC Sport NI JournalistPublished27 June 2025Updated 3 minutes ago"Sixty grand, sixty grand Seamus Coleman, playing football the Everton way."It's a song that has echoed around the terraces at Goodison Park - and later Hill Dickinson Stadium - for 17 years.After 433 matches in blue, Seamus Coleman's famous £60,000 transfer fee from Sligo Rovers works out at about £140 a game.The Republic of Ireland full-back's long Toffees career will soon come to a close after he confirmed he will leave when his contract expires this summer.It's one of the biggest bargains in Premier League history, but it wasn't always a straightforward success story. From street football, proving people wrong and a ham and cheese jambon, this is how Coleman wrote his name into Everton folklore.Coleman to end 17-year Everton playing careerPublished2 minutes agoSchool and football - that was lifeKillybegs is a small fishing town in County Donegal nestled along the picturesque, rural Irish coastline - dubbed Wild Atlantic Way - with a population of about 1,250 people. It's also where a young Seamus Coleman developed his skills on the streets of his estate.Brian Dorrian, who would help shape Coleman's football journey, says it is a place where "everyone knows everybody"."Early life for a lot of the young lads, including Seamus, would have been school and football. They played everywhere."Killybegs was dominated by two sports - football, or soccer as it's often known in the north west, and Gaelic football, which is Ireland's traditional national sport. Coleman, like the majority of youngsters, played both. There were transferable skills, with youngsters learning the sports in robust fashion, with matches taking place between...