Everton U23 coach David Unsworth admits they paid less than £1.5m to sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin from Sheffield United.

Calvert-Lewin arrived at Goodison Park as a teenager for a reported fee of £1.5m, but Unsworth has poured cold water on that claim, insisting the actual price was much lower than most people think.

"I can assure you it was nowhere near the amount of money that people bandied about!" he told Sky Sports. "I won't say the exact fee but it was a lot less than what you just quoted."

Unsworth, who also acts as the club's academy chief, explained how Calvert-Lewin had fallen out of favour at the Blades and that he had watched his career closely in the lower leagues, admitting he was 'delighted' to bring him into the youth set-up.

"I still smile when I think about how we managed to prise him away. It was all about timing and Sheffield United were in League One and had just got a new manager. Dominic wasn't going to play a big part in trying to get them out of League One. Chris [Wilder] decided to go down the experience route and has proven to be very successful.

"We managed to get Dom into our Under 23s at the time, and he's a player I'd worked with previously during my time as a coach at Sheffield United as a 16-year-old. I'd always followed him and tried to plot his journey when he went on two loan periods [at Stalybridge Celtic and Northampton Town].

"I watched him and I was absolutely delighted to bring him to the club. It was a fantastic signing for us, and he is now producing the sorts of displays and playing as well as we could ever have imagined when he was a young player. He's outstanding and has been a brilliant signing for us."