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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Richard Garnett

Everton told they will soon have an '€80m' player on their hands after transfer

Everton will look to double their money by taking a calculated gamble on new midfielder Amadou Onana.

That's according to Belgium under-21 boss Jacky Mathijssen, who believes the Blues are envisaging a seriously bright future for the 20-year-old.

Onana joined Frank Lampard's side from French club Lille on Tuesday, in a deal believed to worth £33.5million. It is quite an investment in a young player who only moved into Ligue 1 a year ago, but Mathijssen believes they investing in his huge potential.

READ MORE: Roberto Martinez makes huge Amadou Onana claim and compares Everton signing to two stars

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Speaking to Het Niuewsblad (as per Sport Witness ), he said: "It must also be that Everton see a huge future in him and hope to sell him for €80m in two years’ time. Otherwise you don’t do that. He is a player with enormous potential.

“It is also a signal that our (Belgium's) future after the golden generation is not as bad as feared. I have always claimed that too. I see all the youngsters that I coached grow into the highest level of the Red Devils. For a long time, people were saying that there was no replacement for (Alex) Witsel and suddenly there are three or four ready to go.”

On Tuesday, Blues boss Lampard spoke about his excitement at Onana's arrival, after he signed a 5-year deal with the Toffees.

He said: "He's a fantastically talented young player, he's got great attributes. I'm not sure how much people here in this country will have seen him but we've watched and followed him for a long time. We've worked very hard to bring him to the club and I think he's going to be a really big player for us.

"Physicality, quality on the ball, energy, defensive attributes - he's an all-round midfielder. So I don't want to put too much on his shoulders at this point, but we're delighted to get him."

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