Everton have won the race for Henry Onyekuru, after they agreed to pay the release clause in his contract.
The Nigerian striker has spent the past couple of years in Belgium with KAS Eupen, and has a rate of a goal every two matches in all competitions during his time with the club. Last season will be seen as the campaign the rest of Europe sat up and take notice of his talents, as he ended the Jupiler League as the joint top goalscorer with 22 notches in 38 appearances.
This alerted interest from West Ham United, and earlier this summer it seemed as though Arsene Wenger was on the verge of luring him to Arsenal. But with those particular links going quiet in recent weeks, this has allowed the Toffees to take advantage and agree to pay the £6.8million release clause in Onyekuru’s existing contract to lure him to Merseyside.
However, the 20-year-old is not expected to be considered for first team duties at Goodison Park for at least another year. It is believed that Ronald Koeman will instead let the player remain in Belgium with champions Anderlecht for another season, so he can gain more first team experience in the top-flight and also potentially feature in the UEFA Champions League.
Onyekuru is the third signing of an intriguing summer for Everton, who have also signed Ajax midfielder Davy Klaassen for £23million and broke their transfer record to take goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from Sunderland for an initial £30million. Malaga striker Sandro Ramirez is also expected to join once he returns from the UEFA Euro Under-21 Championships.
