London (AFP) - Anwar El Ghazi has joined Everton on loan from Premier League rivals Aston Villa for the rest of the season, the Merseyside club said Thursday.

The 26-year-old Dutch winger is the third player to arrive at Goodison Park during the ongoing transfer window after full-backs Vitalii Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson signed full-time deals.

"I'm really excited.Everton is a big club, I cannot wait to get started," El Ghazi told evertontv. 

"I want to show my quality to my teammates, to the club and, of course, the fans.I want to put a smile on their faces.I'm ready and willing to work hard for it and for all of us to work together."

Everton are 15th in the table, a place below and three points adrift of Villa.

The Toffees confirmed they had signed El Ghazi hours after it was announced left-back Lucas Digne had moved in the opposite direction from Everton to Birmingham-based Villa.

El Ghazi joined the Midlands side on loan from French club Lille in 2018, with the switch then being made permanent a year later after he had helped Villa gain promotion to the top flight via the Championship play-offs, scoring in the final.

He has since scored 15 goals in made 71 Premier League appearances and netted the winner in a 2-1 victory at Everton in May 2021.

El Ghazi, capped twice by the Netherlands, could make his Everton debut at basement club Norwich on Saturday.