- Kevin Campbell played under David Moyes during his time managing Everton
- It was announced on Saturday that the former Everton striker had died, aged 54
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! How Southgate made it enjoyable to play for England again
David Moyes has paid an emotional tribute to former Everton striker Kevin Campbell following his death at the age of 54.
Tributes have been pouring in for the former centre forward after it was announced on Saturday that he had tragically passed away. Both his former clubs, Everton and Arsenal, paid tribute to the Englishman, with several of his former team-mates also issuing heartfelt statements.
Campbell played under Moyes during his time at Everton, with the striker initially joining on loan in 1999. He would make the move permanent shortly afterwards, with Moyes arriving at Goodison Park in 2002.
He’d go on to establish himself as a fan favourite among Everton fans, scoring 50 goals across 160 appearances for the Merseyside club, notably also helping the club avoid relegation in 1999, scoring nine goals in the Toffees’ final eight league matches.
Speaking during BBC‘s live coverage of the Netherlands’ 2-1 victory against Poland on Sunday, Moyes hailed Campbell for his personality in the dressing room before stating he had helped him settle in during his early years at the club.
‘First of all, I have to say it’s tragic news, it really is,’ Moyes said to the BBC. ‘Such a young man, a lot in his life still to do.’
Click here to resize this module
‘When I first went to Everton, Kevin was already there. He was a huge character in the dressing room, a big player, an incredibly experienced Premier League player at the time as well.
‘[He was] really helpful to me when I was starting off, and he was in a really good group at Everton at the time. He was a huge part of it, and it’s a real tragedy.’
In Moyes’ first full season in charge at Everton, Campbell would return 10 goals in 36 Premier League appearances for the Toffees.
Ashley Williams and Danny Murphy, also on BBC’s punditry panel for the match, shared their memories of Campbell too.
‘You’ve seen the tributes, and it’s easy to say that but he was such a positive figure to be around, such a fun guy to be around and be in his company,’ former Everton defender Williams said.
‘And what a player he was, growing up, watching him play, he looked unbelievable.’
Murphy also shared a story from when he first met Campbell. He said: ‘My first experience, I had a reserve game at Chester stadium against Everton… and he actually hurt me in a tackle. He put me out [for] six to eight weeks. He was the first one to come in after.
Click here to resize this module
‘That was my first experience of Kevin, he came in and he was mortified that he’d damaged me – he didn’t mean to, but he came in saying ‘I’m really sorry’ – what a great guy.’
Wayne Rooney another ex-Everton star has shared a moving tribute to his former team-mate on social media.
The pair played 48 matches together for the Toffees during the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons, with Rooney posting an image of himself and Campbell on X (formerly Twitter).
He captioned the post: ‘Absolutely devastated to hear the news about Kev. Thinking of all his family and friends.
‘Kev was a great team-mate but more importantly, a brilliant person who helped me a lot in my earlier years.’
Campbell also scored 55 goals in 210 appearances for Arsenal during his time with the Gunners.
Ian Wright also posted several pictures of himself and Campbell on social media during their time together at the north London club.
Speaking on ITV on Saturday night prior to Spain’s game against Croatia, Wright said: ‘I can’t really go too deep into it. It’s very fresh. I only heard this morning.
‘Obviously my best wishes and condolences go to his family but it’s too soon for me to talk about it. Anytime I start to talk about it I well up. He meant the whole world to a lot of people, especially myself.’