Good evening, Everton fans. Here are your evening headlines for Sunday, September 6.
James hailed as Colombia's 'Maradona’
James Rodriguez looks set to bring a whole host of expectation with him when he completes his move to Everton from Spanish giants Real Madrid.
That is, of course, if the playmaker’s reputation in his homeland of Colombia is anything to go by.
Colombian sports journalist Guillermo Arango has labelled James as his country's 'Maradona' and believes the 29-year-old's transfer to Everton couldn’t come at a more crucial time in his career.
He told the ECHO : “James has an amazing left foot – like all the most-talented players in history such as Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.
“For us in Colombia, James is like our Maradona."
Arango added: “It’s [James' more to Everton] important because James is our biggest talent right now.
“He’s had physical problems but we still have big hopes for him and hope that he will have more minutes now at Everton under Carlo Ancelotti.
“We see Ancelotti as like a father figure to James. He showed his best moments at Real Madrid when Ancelotti was manager and he also brought him to Bayern Munich.
“He can have a very good time at Everton under him. At least he will have a lot of confidence playing under him, something that did not happen under Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid.”
Ancelotti outlines key quality Allan will bring
Carlo Ancelotti believes new signing Allan will add several vital qualities to his Everton side.
The Brazilian midfielder arrived at Goodison Park earlier this week, reuniting with Ancelotti after the two had worked together at Napoli.
And the Italian coach believes Allan will prove himself a fantastic player during his time on Merseyside.
“I’m happy for this,” said the Blues boss about Allan’s arrival.
“I think that it was not easy to find a deal but, in the end, we were able to do it and I think he will prove to be a fantastic player for us with quality and ability. For sure, I have no doubt.
“He is a player who will show a lot of energy on the pitch. He is very good tactically, good with the ball and good without the ball. He is a fantastic signing for us.”
Richarlison influence in Allan move revealed
New Everton signing Allan has discussed the influence Richarlison played in convincing him to move to Goodison Park.
The midfielder became the Toffees' first big-money signing of this transfer window, arriving from Napoli in a deal worth around £20million.
And the 29-year-old told the club’s official website of how Richarlison continued to push him over a potential move to Goodison Park.
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.'"
