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| Onana Amadou midfielder of Belgium during the UEFA Nations League Group A4 match between Belgium and Netherlands at the stadium King Baudouin on June 3, 2022 in Brussels, Belgium, 3/06/2022. |
Everton are reportedly reportedly set to sign LOSC Lille midfielder Amadou Onana in a €40 million deal, beating West Ham United to his signature.
According to Saber Desfarges, Everton and LOSC Lille have come to an agreement over a €40 million deal for Belgian defensive midfielder Amadou Onana. The 20-year-old will become Everton’s fourth signing of the summer transfer window, with the Toffees beating Premier League rivals West Ham United to his signature.
Amadou Onana joined LOSC Lille in the 2021 summer transfer window from German outfit Hamburger. He has been a regular for the Ligue 1 club, making quite an impact as a defensive midfielder. The Belgian international has made a total of 41 appearances for Lille across all competitions, also scoring three times and assisting one goal.
But even after just a year in France, Onana has been attracting interest from the likes of West Ham United and Everton. The Hammers were once said to be confident of completing a deal for the midfielder, along with Jesse Lingard but are now set to lose both their targets as Lingard joined Nottingham Forest instead.
Onana reportedly prefers a move to Goodison Park over the London Stadium, which proved to be a decisive point in the transfer saga. Everton will pay €40 million to secure the defensive midfielder’s services, which include €4 million as add-ons.
The Frank Lampard-managed side have agreed on personal terms with the player as well, and the deal is set to be made official in the coming week. Everton are also close to sealing a return for defensive midfielder Idrissa Gueye, who played for the Merseyside club between 2016 and 2019 before joining Paris Saint-Germain.
Onana is expected to be announced first, making him Everton’s fourth acquisition of the ongoing transfer window. The Toffees have signed centre-back James Tarkowski on a free transfer whereas his former teammate at Burnley, Dwight McNeil has also joined the Merseyside club.
Left-back Ruben Vinagre has arrived at Goodison Park on loan from Sporting Lisbon. The way things are going for Everton, they could add two to three more players before the summer transfer window slams shut. As for West Ham, it will be interesting to see who the Hammers turn to in search of a midfield reinforcement.
