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Everton have agreed to sign forward Alex Iwobi from Arsenal in a deal worth up to £40m.
Iwobi came through the ranks at the Gunners, playing 149 times and scoring 15 goals.
The Nigeria forward is Marco Silva’s seventh summer signing.
Iwobi will join fellow new arrivals goalkeeper Jonas Lossl, defender Djibril Sidibe, midfielders Andre Gomes, Fabian Delph and Jean-Philippe Gbamin, and striker Moise Kean.
Everton had an initial bid of £30m turned down but their improved offer has been accepted by Arsenal.
The player is undergoing a medical in London, but a dealsheet was submitted by the 5pm deadline and the transfer should be completed without a problem by the extended cut-off time of 7pm.
Iwobi featured regularly last season under manager Unai Emery, appearing in all but three Premier League games, and he scored in the Europa League final defeat by Chelsea in what was his last appearance for the club.
There is increased competition in Iwobi’s position at Arsenal following the arrival of Nicolas Pepe from Lille this summer for a club record £72m.
Iwobi now begins a new chapter of his career at Everton, as the Toffees target an improvement on last season’s eighth place finish.
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In an attempt to do that, Silva has reshaped his squad over the summer with seven arrivals and nine permanent departures.
6 Comments
Wow! I am really happy for Iwobi. He follows in the footsteps of past Super Eagles greats who have had successful spells in Everton football Clubs.
Yobo and Aiyegbeni were Evertonians while Anichebe also had arguably his most successful period in any club at Everton.
I expect Iwobi to walk straight into the starting line up of Everton and feature more regularly than he probably would have at Arsenal.
Though a gifted player, Iwobi’s meagre goals to games returns coupled with his chronic inconsistencies estranged him from Arsenal fans.
The North Londoners see themselves as a club that should be challenging for the premier league title and the Champions League trophy but they don’t see themselves achieving such great things with a winger who scores sparingly.
But in Everton, expectations should not be that high hence their should be greater tolerance from Toffees’ fans of Iwobi’s shortcomings.
I am happy and excited for him.
Time is scarce for contributions nowadays hence the few ones I manage to sneak through are littered with spelling errors!
Sorry!
We still understand them. So no worries my man
Iwobi stay put at arsenal. The everton move would retrograde your beautiful career
Good move by Iwobi, Daniel Amokachie also played for Everton.
A step down but more playing time prove yourself and Barcelona will come for you. Goodluck