Joshua King succeeded in his efforts to leave AFC Bournemouth in the winter market after failing to get a move away from Vicarage Road in the previous two windows.
Everton took the striker on deadline day and offered him a contract until the end of the season.
Fulham showed interest in the 29-year-old and he had agreed personal terms with the Cottagers, before the Toffees showed up late to acquire his services.
King has spoken to TV2, detailing what went on behind the scenes, including his disbelief after Bournemouth agreed to let him leave the club.
“Bournemouth called 11 hours before the window closed and said that I did not need to come to training the next day. I was going to be sold. I thought it was an April Fool’s joke,” he said.
“I have asked to go through two transition windows now, but they have refused, and then suddenly they say yes. I do not understand it, but now it has actually happened, so I do not complain.
“It’s fun to be back and enjoy football again. I gave everything for Bournemouth until the last day, but it is also difficult to play at your best when you cannot enjoy football and have been promised for a year, but then nothing has happened.
“Football is a lot of mental as well. It was nice to get away. After everything that has happened behind the scenes in recent months.”
The Norway international revealed having conversation with Scott Parker to explain his decision to reject Fulham for the Merseyside club.
“I called Scott Parker, Fulham’s manager. I felt he deserved an explanation for why I did not go for Fulham,” King explained.
“He was after me in the summer too and seems like a good man. We had a good conversation, where he respected and understood why I chose Everton. He wished me all the best.”
According to TV2, Fulham offered the frontman a four-year contract, while he signed a short deal with Carlo Ancelotti’s side. King not wanting to take the easier route convinced him to join Everton.
“’I’m not going for the safest option when I sign a six-month contract with Everton. Everything in the world is not about money either. I’m not guaranteed a starting place, I’m not guaranteed a contract further,” he added.
“All the guarantees I can get from Everton are based on what I do on the pitch over the next few months. So, I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself, but at the same time I have the confidence to have the belief that this is going to be able to happen. Either I get a new contract at Everton or I go somewhere else this summer.”
“I can guarantee that 99 percent of Norwegians had gone for the other option, because it is safer.
“It’s a bit about me as a person. I feel like a lot of people have written me off. I hear in the back of my mind ‘Joshua, what’s going on? You’re in the Championship and you don’t score goals. You have lost your place to Alexander Sørloth on the national team. You’re done.’ But I’m still hungry, and I want to convince all those who doubt me. So, when I chose Everton it was a statement to myself.
“I want to show that I’m not done. I have a dream that I will try to achieve. I had the choice of a long-term contract at Fulham, but then I had to fight to avoid relegation with the club. Or I could fight for games in Europe with Everton, which I’ve dreamed of all my career.
“So, after all, the choice wasn’t really that difficult, but I have a lot to prove in a short time here at Everton leading up to the summer.”
King has made four appearances from the bench since arriving at Goodison Park.
