Everton have completed the signing of Black Stars winger Christian Atsu on a season-long loan from Chelsea.<\/p>\n
The club announced the deal on their official website on Wednesday after the player passed a medical and secured a work permit.<\/p>\n
The deal had been mooted for several weeks but appeared to have stalled because Everton could not guarantee him a regular place in the team.<\/p>\n
But now the 22-year old will join the Merseyside club for the 2014\/2015 season and is available for their Premier League opener at Leicester City on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The player told the club’s TV station:\u00a0“I’m very happy to be joining Everton because it’s a great club, which likes to play football, and it’s a great pleasure to be here.<\/p>\n
“Playing in the Premier League has always been a dream for me and I have achieved that dream.\u00a0This is the biggest level for me to play at. I know that it’s a very competitive league and I believe with hard work we’re going to be successful this season.”<\/p>\n
Everton manager, Roberto Martinez, a week ago, stated that he was looking to sign a winger, with the club competing in Europe this season.<\/p>\n
He said: “He [Atsu] is a player who fits in with the culture and the way we want to play. He’s a very gifted technical footballer and he’s got the right personality and character to fit in with the group, which is vital.<\/p>\n
“He will excite fans because he brings something completely different and a different way of playing to what we’ve got in the squad.\u00a0He’s a left-footed player who loves taking people on and he’s got a really good understanding of the game for such a young man.<\/p>\n
“He also brings extra competition in a position in which we felt we needed a player full of desire and hunger, who really wants to make things happen in the final third of the pitch.”<\/p>\n
Atsu who played at the 2014 World cup in Brazil for Ghana starting all three group games as Ghana exited the competition at the group stage.<\/p>\n
Martinez said: “For Christian, at 22, to already have played in a World Cup, to have been able to adapt into Portuguese football and into the league in Holland is a really good accumulation of experiences that will be very beneficial, especially with us playing in the Europa League this season.”<\/p>\n
Atsu spent last season on loan at Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem, where he was named the club’s player of the season after scoring five goals.<\/p>\n
However, with reports that Chelsea Manager, Jose Mourinho, wanted to monitor Atsu’s development in a more competitive league, a move to a Premier league club seemed likely.<\/p>\n
Everton, who finished fifth last season, seven points behind fourth-placed Arsenal have also signed Belgium forward, Romelu Lukaku for a club record 28 million pounds from the West London club.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By: Edwin Kwakofi\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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