Unai Emery has further strengthened his squad ahead of Aston Villa's Champions League campaign; Villa have already brought in two central midfielders this summer in Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus and Ross Barkley from Luton Town
Tuesday 23 July 2024 07:22, UK
Aston Villa have completed a £50m deal for midfielder Amadou Onana from Everton.
Unai Emery is further strengthening his squad ahead of Aston Villa's Champions League campaign.
Onana made 72 appearances for Everton, including 37 last season in all competitions, after joining from Lille for £30m in 2022.
Onana played for Belgium at Euro 2024 this summer as his nation was knocked out by France in the last 16.
Villa have already brought in two central midfielders this summer with the additions of Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus and Ross Barkley from Luton Town.
Onana becomes Villa's eighth signing of the summer transfer window after the arrivals of Ian Maatsen, Barrenechea, Samuel Iling-Junior, Barkley, Lewis Dobbin, Cameron Archer and Jaden Philogene.
Onana becomes the second-most expensive signing in Villa's history, when add-ons are included. The most expensive, Moussa Diaby, looks set to be sold this summer.
He will fly to Saudi Arabia ahead of a move to Al-Ittihad, where he will sign a contract until 2029 with a gross salary of nearly £20m a year. Villa will receive a £50m transfer fee, a year on since he joined from Bayer Leverkusen.
Sky Sports' Ben Grounds:
Aston Villa may not have found a like-for-like replacement for Douglas Luiz, but in reinvesting the £21m received in the sale of the Brazil international to Juventus on Onana, Unai Emery is getting a player of immense potential.
The 22-year-old impressed in a disappointing Euros campaign for Belgium this summer, and Villa have moved to see off competition for a player whose stock is set to rise.
Onana's worth is what he ultimately is to Aston Villa. For Everton, he wasn't universally admired by their supporters, but his arrival at his new club further bolsters their depth in all departments ahead of their return to Europe's top table.
His call to arms were depicted by some fans at Everton as playing to the galleries when his performances were not always consistent. 'Give us something to shout about', was often the general sentiment of the Gwladys Street.
A penalty shoot-out miss from the midfielder in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals against Fulham certainly didn't help enamour those dissenters, at the start of a 14-game winless streak over the winter.
But his composure in possession and in tight spaces was also evident as he returned to the side on a regular basis during Everton's surge to survival.
The Merseyside club were placed in a position where they had to sell this summer, and in allowing Onana to depart, it gives them hope of retaining other key assets, namely Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Onana always set his sights high when he arrived in England two summers ago, and so joining a Champions League club now matches those lofty ambitions. It is therefore a deal that suits all parties.
The 2024 summer transfer window in the Premier League and Scottish Premiership is officially open.
The window will close on August 30 at 11pm UK time in England and at 11.30pm in Scotland.
The Premier League and Scottish Premiership brought forward Deadline Day to link up with the other major leagues in Europe. The closing dates were set following discussions with the leagues in England, Germany, Italy, Spain and France.
