Everton send message to Amadou Onana after £50m Aston Villa transfer confirmed
Amadou Onana has secured a £50m to Aston Villa after the final details of the move were agreed following his return from holiday
Amadou Onana has completed his move to Aston Villa. The midfielder has joined the Midlands club for an undisclosed fee in a deal understood to be in the region of £50m. It comes after he completed his medical following his return from holiday after reaching the knockout stages of the Euros with Belgium.
The 22-year-old had been named in the ‘team of the group stages’ by the esteemed French publication l’Equipe, his growing importance to his national side helping to boost his reputation. His departure had been expected this summer, with the former Lille man vocal about his desire to seek new challenges in the future and Everton open to the prospect of getting a sizable fee for a player who, while immensely talented, was not a mainstay of Sean Dyche’s plans.
That was recognised in the club’s willingness to consider offers in the region of £50m for the midfielder, as reported by the ECHO last month. That figure was a revision of the valuation placed on him previously and appeared to be a pragmatic acknowledgement that such a deal would provide Everton with an opportunity to improve the club’s wider financial position and strengthen elsewhere without weakening Dyche’s preferred first XI.
Onana made his debut at Villa Park under Frank Lampard in August 2022. A late substitute, his first involvement in the Premier League was to give the ball away in the build up to the home side’s second goal. He responded impressively, however, forcing the Lucas Digne own goal that offered a route back into the game for Everton.
Onana made 63 Premier League appearances for the Blues, scoring three goals. His best performance was a dominant display in Dyche’s first game in charge - a 1-0 win over Arsenal that had the opposition dressing room in raptures about him. His final appearance was at the Emirates - another good performance in front of Mikel Arteta as Everton lost to a controversial late goal. Arsenal held a long-standing interest in Onana and contacted Everton about his availability on the opening day of the transfer window, though talks did not progress. Newcastle United, Manchester United and several Champions League clubs across Europe were also interested in a player who split opinions on Merseyside. While there was a general acceptance of his talent, and that his style was not best-suited to Dyche’s approach, there was also frustration over a lack of consistency. Dyche used Onana regularly but at key moments, such as the three games in a week that redefined Everton’s season in April, he was willing to consider alternative options. Onana did not start any of those wins over Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Brentford.
Lille, the club Everton signed Onana from two years ago in a package worth around £35m, are due 20% of any profit made by the Blues on his sale. Everton are expected to make a profit of around £16m through the move. Confirming his departure, Everton said: "Everton thanks Amadou for his service and wishes him well for the future."