New Everton signing Allan has revealed the role played by Richarlison in his move from Napoli to Goodison Park.
The Brazilian was officially announced as Carlo Ancelotti's first major signing of the summer window on Saturday morning, as he joins in a deal believed to be worth around £20m until 2023.
Talks between the two clubs were lengthy but moved rapidly towards a conclusion over the last week with Everton focusing efforts on bolstering their midfield.
Speaking to evertonfc.com, the midfielder - who was present at Goodison to watch his side defeat Preston 2-0 - opened up about the role Richarlison played as negotiations were ongoing.
Just like most Blues fans, the star forward clearly couldn't wait for Allan to finally make the move to the Premier League from Serie A and messaged him a lot about how much he was needed to improve the side.
He said: "I talked a lot with Richarlison during the negotiations about coming to Everton. He was asking me, 'When are you coming? We need you here, come here'."
Allan has been capped nine times for Brazil and won the Coppa Italia with Napoli last season.
He made 212 appearances in five seasons with the Partenopei.
The 29-year-old played 61 matches under Ancelotti during his time with the Serie A club and has also explained the quality he hopes to bring to his manager's side following their reunion and his desire to reward the fans.
He said: "I'm really happy to know the fans are excited about me coming here to Everton.
"I received a lot of messages from fans and that made me really happy. I'm confident in the work I can do here.
"In my style of football, I'm a very dedicated player, a player who looks to help their teammates and I hope in my time to get even more fans behind me.
"Without a doubt a strong part of my game is marking and desire to going in to win absolutely every balll, definitely a differential in my game and I believe with my desire I can put in performances to win the fans over and hopefully win things as well."
Allan will be looking to make his debut when the Blues kick start the new Premier League campaign next weekend away to Tottenham Hotspur.
*Do you play Fantasy Premier League? Do you back yourself to use your chips in the right gameweeks, and nail your captain every single time? Now is your chance to prove it – and win some prizes in the process.
