Then Everton manager Rafa Benitez speaks with Andros Townsend during the Premier League match against Arsenal at Goodison Park on December 6, 2021(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Andros Townsend believes Rafa Benitez overruled the Everton set-up to bring him to the club. The winger moved to Merseyside after his contract came to an end with Crystal Palace in July 2021.

The transfer reunited the England international with Benitez after the pair worked together briefly at Newcastle United.

While the former Liverpool manager's stint at Goodison Park would be a disastrous one, Townsend did have positive moments in Royal Blue before suffering a devastating knee injury in an FA Cup defeat at Palace later that season.

Despite having worked with Benitez in the past, Townsend said he was shocked when the then Blues boss sought him out in the summer of 2021 - a summer in which the only fee...