Aston Villa have announced the signing of midfielder Amadou Onana from Everton – a new club record.
The 22-year-old has impressed for the Toffees after joining from Lille in a £33 million deal in 2022.
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And now the “Villans” have struck and signed the Belgian international for 50 million pounds, although Arsenal and Bayern Munich have already shown interest.
This amount exceeds the £43 million they paid to Bayer Leverkusen for Moussa Diaby last summer.
This change may have indirectly led to one of the most astonishing seasons in club football for the top German club, as it won the championship and cup double.
Unai Emery’s Villa team needed a replacement for Brazilian star Douglas Luiz, who joined Juventus for £42.4m earlier this summer.
And Onana – who was enquired into by Arsenal last month – fits those requirements, having developed into a talented and versatile central midfielder in his two seasons at Goodison Park.
His compatriot Boubacar Kamara is not expected to return from injury until the start of the new season, which increases the need for a new midfielder.
Onana, who played four times for Belgium at Euro 2024 and started in the quarter-final defeat to France, had to answer questions about his future at the tournament.
When asked directly about the Gunners’ interest, he replied: “Any comment? I’m here to play in the European Championships, mate.”
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“I’m not so sure about that. I’m here to concentrate 100 percent on the European Championship. That’s all.”
Aston Villa are extremely active in the transfer market as they look to balance their books and prepare for the Champions League season.
Enzo Barrenechea and Ross Barkley are two other midfield additions for the Villans, joining from Juventus and Luton respectively.
They have also signed Samuel Iling-Junior, Cameron Archer, Lewis Dobbin and Ian Maatsen.
And they have also re-signed Jaden Philogene from Hull – less than 12 months after he left Villa Park.
Villa has now sold young players Omari Kellyman and Tim Iroegbunam.