Everton’s Amadou Onana has told Het Laatste Nieuws he has set his sights on reaching the highest level.
The Toffees took the midfielder from Lille last summer, a year after he joined the Ligue 1 side from second division German club Hamburg.
His fine displays for Lille not only helped the 21-year-old get a move to Everton but also make his debut for Belgium last June.
Onana has been a regular for the Merseyside club this season, making 28 appearances in all competitions. This was vital for him to retain a place in the national team, especially for the World Cup, where he featured twice for Belgium.
The Everton player didn’t have it easy during his youth career in Belgium, where he failed to impress during his spells at Anderlecht and Zulte Waregem. The latter had refused to provide him a travel allowance to arrive for training.
Onana admitted the rejection from Belgian clubs hurt and resulted in him making a switch to Germany. HLN put it to him that some people obviously didn’t feel he was good enough.
“I take that phrase with me everywhere. But I think the whole world saw my face during the World Cup. They saw my name on the back of a shirt. With number 18. For me that is my best victory,” he said.
The Everton player explained his ambitions when asked if his goal is to entertain the supporters.
“That’s not my first goal. I want to reach the very highest for myself. If I succeed, my family will be happy. Mum will call me. My grandfather. On the other hand, football is also a way of expressing myself,” he added.
Onana has been linked with a few top clubs and it needs to be seen if he will change clubs for the third summer in a row.
Everton fans will hope not.
