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Doucoure signs a three-year contract, with an option for one more year, at Goodison Park following the arrival of James Rodríguez and Allan
Last Updated: 08/09/20 7:25 pm
Abdoulaye Doucoure has joined Everton
Everton have completed the signing of midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure from Watford on a £ 20m deal.
The 27-year-old has signed a three-year contract at Goodison Park with an option for one more year and becomes the third major signing in four days following the arrival of Colombian international James Rodríguez of Real Madrid and Brazilian midfielder Allan of Napoli. .
Watford had started negotiations by asking for £ 35 million for the French midfielder, who scored 17 goals in 141 appearances during his four-year stint at Vicarage Road.
“I have been waiting a long time to come here and now it has happened so I am very happy,” Doucoure told the club’s website.
“I had some interest from other clubs, but from the beginning, when Everton showed interest in me, I told my agent to focus on Everton. It was the only club I wanted to join.
“Everton have a great history in English football and it is a good club for me to take a step forward in my career. I am very happy now to be an Everton player and very excited about the future.
“It is an ambitious project here and it was a big part of my decision, having [Director of Football] Marcel [Brands] and coach Carlo Ancelotti loves me. “
Doucoure will wear the number 16 jersey at Goodison Park, which has been vacant since James McCarthy left the club for Crystal Palace a year ago.
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The 27-year-old declared himself “ready” for Everton’s Premier League opener in Tottenham on Sunday.
“From the first day I spoke with the manager [Ancelotti]He immediately said where I can improve, “said Doucoure.
“What I’m good at, what I can improve at, so of course from the beginning, I knew I could improve myself. He wants me to play a box-to-box role in midfield. I think that’s my best position.
“I can bring my energy to the team … I am a powerful player, I can run a lot, the whole game. I can also score goals. I will do my best to score goals and help the team. I want to win some trophies.”
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Analysis: Doucoure is the missing piece in midfield?
Ron Walker from Sky Sports …
It has long been apparent where Carlo Ancelotti felt Everton’s shortcomings most needed to be addressed: the engine room.
With James Rodriguez and Allan already through the door, Ancelotti has a new creative outlet and a winner of the ball, and in Doucoure, a man to link the two as well.
The Frenchman has long been admired at Watford and, although like many of his teammates, his form declined on the way to relegation last season, his energy, drive and technical ability can prove to be a huge asset to his team. new team.
Doucoure was often deployed as No. 10 on Vicarage Road towards the end of his Hornets career, but he has flourished best in a box-to-box role, with the physical ability to chase without the ball and the technique to thrive on it.
In 2018/19, when he played a major role at Watford’s 11th spot, he was ranked 21st across the division in ball recoveries, but also 26th in final third completions.
If Ancelotti was concerned about a lack of legs in midfield between options like Morgan Schneiderlin, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Andre Gomes, his three additions this summer have more than addressed that problem, and Doucoure will bring much more than energy to the heart of his team. . midfield.
3:40 Italian soccer expert Nicky Bandini gives us an insight into Everton’s new signing Allan and talks about his unique relationship with Carlo Ancelotti.
How James and Allan could shine in Everton’s midfield
South American soccer expert Tim Vickery:
“Allan is a Brazilian midfielder who is one of those players that coaches tend to rate more than fans. He is a problem solver. When Brazil called him the first time, the coach said: ‘Allan? He has no feet, he has wheel’. .
“And what he meant by that is that he just moves around the field, sees the gaps, fills in the gaps, joins the lines. He’s a problem solver that will help his team function. Maybe he doesn’t offer much on the ball but He has the dynamism to move around the field.
0:28 James Rodríguez tells Everton TV that he wants to win trophies at the club and says he ‘can’t wait to perform’
“The one who needs to get excited is James Rodriguez, the rising star of the 2014 World Cup; that player is still there. He was only 22 years old then, now he is 29 and it almost seems that his career has stalled ever since. A victim of stockpile, there is a limited number of players who may be important in the Real Madrid lineup.
“James is a very, very elegant player, maybe not fast enough, not with the fast pace to fit into the Real Madrid system.
“At Everton he has everything he wants. He has a coach who knows him well, admires and respects him, and Ancelotti worked with him in his best season also at Real Madrid, his first season, and also took him to Bayern” . on loan.”
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