Everton sign Lille midfielder Onana for £33m
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Everton have signed Belgian midfielder Amadou Onana from Lille for £33m.
The 20-year-old was at Goodison Park on Saturday to watch Everton Defeat by 1-0 against Chelsea in their first Premier League game of the season.
West Ham were also interested in Onana and had it agree a rate for the player.
“It feels great to join Everton,” he told EvertonTV. “I know it’s a big, big club, one of the biggest in England. It’s something I want to be a part of for many years.”
Onana becomes Everton’s fifth signing of the summer after James Tarkowski, Dwight McNeil and loan pair Ruben Vinagre and Conor Coady.
Onana, who made his Belgium debut against the Netherlands in June, said Everton manager Frank Lampard was a key figure in his decision to move.
“Everyone here showed that they really wanted me and that they have a plan for me,” he said.
“I really appreciated the conversations I had with the manager and director of football (Kevin Thelwell). They told me how they wanted me to play and I liked it.
“The manager played at the highest level, won a lot of things and was also a midfielder. It means a lot to have interest in him and I think he can teach me a lot.
“They’re both very ambitious and that’s the kind of guy I am, so it matches.”
Lampard said: “Amadou is a player we were very keen to bring to Everton.
“He has a lot of great qualities to help strengthen our midfield and, at just 20 years old, he has huge potential to improve even further.
“I spoke to him about why Everton was the right club for him and we are all looking forward to him showing what he can bring to the team.”
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