- Kenneth Omeruo seals permanent deal at Leganes in Spain
Super Eagles forward, Alex Iwobi was snapped up from Arsenal in the last minutes of the summer transfer window by Everton in a deal worth up to £40million.
The Nigerian international who came through the ranks at the Gunners, playing 149 times and scoring 15 goals, has been on the radar of the Toffees and is the seventh player to be signed on by Coach Marco Silva.
Iwobi will join fellow new arrivals goalkeeper Jonas Lossl, defender Djibril Sidibe, midfielders Andre Gomes, Fabian Delph and Jean-Philippe Gbamin, and striker Moise Kean.
Everton had an initial bid of £30m turned down but their improved offer was accepted by Arsenal.
The player who is nephew of former Super Eagles Captain Austin Jay Jay Okocha did a medical in London with a dealsheet submitted by the 5pm deadline and completed without a problem by the extended cut-off time of 7pm.
Iwobi featured regularly last season under manager Unai Emery, appearing in all but three Premier League games, and he scored in the Europa League final defeat by Chelsea in what was his last appearance for the club.
There is increased competition in Iwobi’s position at Arsenal following the arrival of Nicolas Pepe from Lille this summer for a club record £72m.
Iwobi now begins a new chapter of his career at Everton, as the Toffees target an improvement on last season’s eighth place finish.
Also yesterday, Iwobi’s Super Eagles teammate, Kenneth Omeruo also had his heart desire come true on the final day of the summer transfer window as Greece international Dimitrios Siovas claimed that Omeruo’s proposed switch to CD Leganes from Chelsea Fc is a done deal.
According to Spanish sports daily Marca , Siovas leaked the information that the Super Eagles star has already signed for Leganes and will be unveiled by the La Liga side in the coming days.
Siovas posted the information on Instagram before deleting it with official details not yet decided.
After long negotiations, Leganes have agreed to pay Chelsea 4.5 million euros for the permanent signing of Omeruo.
The 25-year-old, who arrived Chelsea from Sunshine Stars in January 2012, is expected to put pen to paper on a five-year deal until the summer of 2024.
Omeruo had attracted interest from Celta Viga, Villarreal and Amiens but his priority was to continue his career at Leganes, where he shone last season.