Marco Silva believes shock late transfer window capture Alex Iwobi can help to take Everton to the next level.
The Blues have been cracking winger Wilfried Zaha for much of the summer, but when they failed to agree terms with unyielding Palace, they switched to the Arsenal forward.
The deal was put together so late, Everton even needed a ‘deal sheet’, which allowed them an extra two hours after the 5pm deadline to complete necessary documents and details…with the £35m transfer finally confirmed after 9pm!
But Silva says it was worth it, for a player who he believes has the right levels of hunger to take Everton towards Europe.
“Alex was one of our main targets for this window and I believe he is a fantastic signing for Everton,” he said.
“He is still young but already with a lot of top-level experience – 100 Premier League matches, more in Europe and many international games.
“Alex fits exactly the profile of player I want in my model. He is hungry to join Everton and take the next step in his career, to help us compete with the strongest teams in the league and reach his potential at our club.”
Iwobi signed a five year contract, worth around £80,000 a week, in a deal that could rise to £35m with add-ons.
He is the nephew of Nigeria international Jay-Jay Okocha, and has already played 36 games for his country.
The winger also scored 15 goals in 149 appearances for Arsenal after making his first-team debut in 2015.
He was the seventh and final signing of a productive summer for the Toffees, joining fellow new recruits Jonas Lossl, Andre Gomes, Fabian Delph, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Moise Kean, Djibril Sidibe in Silva's squad.
