Everton have signed Amadou Onana and they will certainly the backing of their former boss Roberto Martinez after striking that deal.
Onana’s rise is absolutely astonishing.
The Belgian powerhouse was in Germany’s second tier with Hamburg a year ago before Lille swooped to sign him.
Fast forward a year and Onana has now secured himself a huge move to Everton, with the fee believed to be around £33.5million.
That’s a profit of more than £25million before any sell-on clauses, with Lille cashing in on their star midfielder.
Everton have signed Amadou Onana
West Ham looked to be closing in on Onana last week but Everton have managed to swoop in and secure his signature.
That’s a major addition for Everton with a real belief that the 6ft 5in anchor man can become a real star of the future.
The 20-year-old is making a big move but has remarkably started just 25 senior league games in his career.
Everton clearly believe in Onana and a former Toffee is a huge fan too.
Ex-Toffees manager Roberto Martinez is in charge of the Belgian national team and he has given Onana his international breakthrough.
Onana made his International debut against the Netherlands earlier this year and Belgium will hope to build around him for years to come.
Martinez made that decision to bring Onana in and has praised the giant midfielder.
Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws earlier this year, Martinez hailed Onana for his performances in the Champions League, seemingly believing that he equipped himself brilliantly as a rookie.
Martinez also praised Onana’s ability to play in different midfield roles, but did pick out the ideal position for Onana – playing him as a number six in front of the back four.
“Amadou showed himself in the Champions League in midfield at Lille,” said Martinez. “He is very versatile, but I especially see in him a good number six,” he added.
That’s something for Frank Lampard to consider moving forward, with Martinez now keeping very close tabs on how Onana develops at Everton.
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