On Tuesday, Everton confirmed they had completed the signing of Amadou Onana from Lille for an ‘undisclosed fee’ and the midfielder has signed a five-year deal at Goodison Park.
Earlier reports explained the Toffees and the Ligue 1 side agreed a deal for €36m plus €4m in bonuses for the 20-year-old.
The Belgium international made his debut for Everton when he came off the bench in his side’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend.
Onana’s compatriots, Charles De Ketelaere [21] and Loïs Openda [22], have also changed clubs this summer, joining AC Milan and RC Lens respectively.
Roberto Martínez has warned these players they need regular playing time at their clubs to make it to the Belgium squad for the Qatar World Cup.
“De Ketelaere, but also other youngsters such as Onana and Openda have thought about their transfers for a long time. They declined offers because they had a clear idea of what they wanted,” he said, as quoted by Het Belang van Limburg.
“But I must not beat around the bush: it is of course always a risk, because you do not know how much they will play. And those young players must have enough match rhythm to go to the World Cup.
Onana joined Lille from Hamburg in the summer of 2021 and went on to make 11 starts in Ligue 1 last season. A year later, he moved to the Premier League.
When asked whether it was a surprise Everton invested €40m on the Belgian, Martínez said: “No. It reminds me of Romelu Lukaku’s transfer when I was at Everton. We paid more than €30m for him then. That was the most expensive Everton transfer ever.
“A few years later we sold Romelu to Manchester United for €90m. That €30m ended up being the cheapest €30m Everton ever spent.
“I think it’s no different with Onana. I think Onana, who is only 20 years old, can be sold for a lot more money in a few years. He already has leadership and an impressive character.
“If he can still grow in the position they brought him for, a defensive midfielder, then things are definitely going in the right direction.
“For me, he is the most impressive debutant at De Rode Duivels since Youri Tielemans in 2016. His personality, that aura, that leadership… Tielemans was quieter, but ready to tackle any situation while also being extremely technically skilled. Those two are the most impressive debutants I’ve had.”
