Former Everton and Arsenal striker set to make Saudi Arabia switch

Former Everton striker Francis Jeffers is set to take up a coaching role in Saudi Arabia.

Oldham Athletic have confirmed that Jeffers has left Boundary Park tp pursue a move to the Middle East. The 42-year-old served as a first-team coach under ex-Toffees academy director and under-23s boss David Unsworth for the past nine months.

Speaking to the Latcis, website, Unsworth said: “Franny's a good friend of mine. We've worked together a long time, he's a fabulous coach, he wants to improve and I'm sure he wants to become a manager in his own right at some point.

"This new role is a great opportunity for him, and we wish him well."

Jeffers graduated through Everton's academy and scored 20 goals in 80 appearances for the club between 1997-2001. He was then signed by Arsenal for a fee of £8 million but struggled to make an impact in north London.

Jeffers netted only four times in 22 games for the Gunners - although won the Premier League and FA Cup in his maiden season - and was loaned back to Everton in the 2003-04 campaign. He left Arsenal to join Charlton Athletic that summer before going on to represent the likes of Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers and Motherwell. Meanwhile, he had two spells with Australian side Newcastle Jets and also played for Maltese side Floriana.

Jeffers brought his playing career down at Accrington Stanley in 2013. He joined Everton's academy as a coach in 2016 before leaving to take up a role in Ipswich Town's backroom staff five years later. He departed the Tractor Boys in December 2021 when manager Paul Cook was sacked and then linked up with Oldham the following September.

Now Jeffers will follow a host of names to Saudi. They include former Liverpool pair Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler, who have been announced as manager of Al-Ettifaq and Al-Qadisiyah respectively. Players who have moved to the Gulf state in the current transfer window include Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Ruben Neves.