Everton have signed Belgium international Amadou Onana from Lille for an undisclosed fee.
The 20-year-old midfielder has agreed a five-year contract at Goodison Park and becomes the Toffees’ fifth summer signing after James Tarkowski, Ruben Vinagre, Conor Coady and Dwight McNeil.
Speaking to evertontv, Onana said: “It feels great to join Everton. I know it’s a big, big club, one of the biggest in England. It’s something I want to be part of for many years.
“Everyone here showed they really wanted me and they have a plan for me, so I really appreciated the talks I had with the manager and director of football. They told me how they wanted me to play and I enjoyed it.
“They both have a lot of ambition and that’s the type of guy I am so it matches.”
Onana highlighted manager Frank Lampard as a key reason behind the move, saying: “He played at the highest level, won many things and was a midfielder, too.
“It means a lot to have interest from him and I think he can teach me many things.”
Born in Senegal, Onana played his youth football in Belgium before moving to Germany in 2018 and playing for Hoffenheim and Hamburg prior to his switch to Lille last summer.
He was at Goodison Park on Saturday to watch the 1-0 defeat by Chelsea after undergoing a medical earlier in the day.
Plans are also well advanced to bring former midfielder Idrissa Gueye back to the club from Paris St Germain but the search for attacking recruits goes on.
Lampard said: “Amadou is a player we were really keen to bring to Everton. He has many great qualities to help strengthen our midfield and, at just 20 years old, has massive potential to get even better.
“I spoke to him about why Everton was the right club for him and we’re all looking forward to him showing what he can bring to the team.”
