Rafa Benitez insists he had to hear the right answers from Anwar El-Ghazi before agreeing to signing him.
Everton have signed the Aston Villa winger on loan until the end of the season.
Benitez revealed that El Ghazi’s name came up in conversations while the Blues were negotiating the sale of Lucas Digne.
Everton were set on adding a winger to the ranks this month but their manager has played down the idea that El Ghazi was forced upon him.
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Blues boss Benitez says the 26-year-old met the criteria he was looking for but still insisted on talking to the Dutch wide-man before agreeing to the deal.
"To be fair, with the Covid situation, with injuries and also (Alex) Iwobi away from here for nearly one month, it was an opportunity, he said.
“If there is a player on loan, with quality, that wants to come, who wants to prove himself, then maybe it is a win-win situation. That was the idea.
"I was talking with the player to be sure he was keen to come, and he has the desire to do well for us, and he was quite positive. In the end, hopefully he can improve our squad."
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Asked if he had the power to have called the deal off, if he had wanted to, Benitez, whose side face a crucial clash at Norwich City today, said: "I was talking with the player to be sure he has his commitment and wanted to come.
"That was, for me, the key part of the negotiation."
