Everton Football Club have completed the signing of Abdoulaye Doucoure from Watford for a reported £20m fee on a three-year contract with an option of a further year extension.
The 27-year-old midfielder becomes the third major signing in four days for the club following the arrivals of Colombia international James Rodriguez from Real Madrid and Brazil midfielder Allan from Napoli.
Watford started negotiations valuing the player who scored 17 goals in 141 appearances during his four-year stay at Vicarage Road around £35m but both parties eventually agreed on a £20m fee.
Doucoure tells the club’s website: “I have been waiting a long time to come here and now it has happened so I am very happy,”
“I had some interest from other clubs but from the beginning when Everton showed an interest in me I told my agent to focus on Everton. It was the only club I wanted to join.
“Everton has a big history in English football and it is a good club for me to have a step up in my career. I am very happy now to be an Everton player and very excited for the future.
“It is an ambitious project here and it was a big part of my decision, having [Director of Football] Marcel [Brands] and the coach Carlo Ancelotti wanting me.”
Doucoure who declared himself “ready” for Everton’s Premier League opener at Tottenham on Sunday will wear the number 16 shirt at Goodison Park, which has been vacant since James McCarthy left the club for Crystal Palace a year ago.
“From the first day I spoke to the manager [Ancelotti], he said straight away where I can improve,” says Doucoure.
“What I am good on, where I can get better – so, of course, since the beginning, I knew he could improve me. He wants me to play a box-to-box role in the midfield. I think it is my best position.
“I can bring my energy to the team… I am a powerful player, I can run a lot, all the game. I can add goals as well. I will try my best to score goals and help the team. I want to win some trophies.”
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Aston Villa sign Brentford striker Ollie Watkins in a club-record deal
Aston Villa have signed Ollie Watkins from Brentford on a five-year deal after breaking their club transfer record to land the player.
The striker travelled to Birmingham on Tuesday night ahead of the big-money move, which eclipses the £22m Villa spent for striker Wesley from Club Brugge last year.
According to reports, the club is to pay an initial £28m fee for Watkins, which could potentially rise to £33m in add-ons.
Villa beat city rivals, West Brom, to the goalscorer’s signature after Bournemouth rejected their bid for Callum Wilson, who eventually joined Newcastle.
League Two club Exeter City also bagged a record sale with the deal for Watkins as they cashed in a seven-figure sum thanks to a sell-on clause on their former academy product following his move to West London for less than £2m in 2017.
Watkins said that the influence of Dean Smith – who he had previously worked under at Brentford – played a pivotal role in his decision to move to Villa despite interest from many others.
Watkins scored 26 goals for the Bees last season as they missed out on promotion in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final against Fulham.
Newcastle sign left-back Jamal Lewis from Norwich for £15m on a five-year deal
Newcastle have made it four signings in the summer transfer window with Callum Wilson joining for £20m on Monday with his former Bournemouth team-mate Ryan Fraser, and Jeff Hendrick following suit as free agents while Norwich left-back Jamal Lewis completes the four for £15m on a five-year deal.
The defender, who sat out Northern Ireland’s 5-1 defeat to Norway on Monday, had been a target for Liverpool earlier in the transfer window.
Lewis comes highly rated and could make his debut in Newcastle’s opening Premier League game of the season with West Ham on Saturday, 12 September.
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