The £33m Transfer Deal From Lille To Everton For Amadou Onana

Amadou Zeund Georges Ba Mvom Onana (born 16 August 2001) is a 1.92m Belgian professional footballer who was born in Dakar, Senegal. Onana plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Everton wearing the number 8, and also plays for the Belgian national team. 

Born in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, Onana’s road to Goodison passed through Brussels, where he played for Anderlecht, RWS Brussels, and Zulte Waregem in his youth before signing for German club Hoffenheim in July 2018.

Before he moved to Everton, he was first in Hamburger SV. Onana moved to second division club Hamburger SV in mid-m 2020. He made his professional debut for the club in his 2020/21 first round of 2020/21 DFB his Cup and came on as a 60th-minute substitute against 3. La Liga Dynamo Dresden. He scored a header in the 89th minute of the game to lose 4–1. In August 2021, Onana joined a Ligue 1 club, Lille, on a five-year deal. In the 2021-22 season, he participated in 32 league games and scored 1 goal. Recently, Onana signed a five-year deal with Premier League club Everton, for £33m, including add-ons, on 9 August 2022. He becomes Everton’s fifth summer deal after the Toffees beat West Ham with the signing of the 21 year old Belgian international.

The acclaimed 21-year-old can play anywhere in central midfield with his ball-carrying skills but is best suited for the defensive midfield role that the Blues have pitted against him over years to come. The Toffees and West Ham United were evenly contested for the player, with both Premier League sides matching their assessment of the Lille player. However, Onana was reported to have preferred joining Everton, which offered a better salary structure and potentially playing opportunities, despite the Londoners facing European competition this year.

In recent events of his international career, On the 18th of May, 2022, Onana was called up to four UEFA Nations League squads for 2022-23 matches on the 3rd, 8th, 10th, and 13th of June, 2022, representing the Netherlands, Poland (twice) and Wales. Onana made his international debut on 3 June 2022 against the Netherlands.

The £33 Deal

Everton has signed their fifth deal recently, making their biggest acquisition under Frank Lampard’s reign by signing Lille midfielder Amadou Onana for £33m. They beat out West Ham competition for the Belgian international signing on his five-year contract at Goodison Park. Onana, who finished a medical at Merseyside over the weekend, said he wishes to learn from Lampard, one of the best midfielders of his generation. He said, in summary, that it feels good to be a part of a big club like Everton, one of the biggest football clubs in England and that it is what he dreamed about a lot. Another solid reason was the manager, who played at the highest level, won a lot, and was also a midfielder. Amadou said he was pleased with his interest and confident that he could learn much from the new coach.

Powerful, quick, technical, and capable of developing into a variety of central midfield roles, Onana said the opportunity of playing under manager Frank Lampard, a passionate Evertonian and one of England’s biggest clubs, was the key to his long-term contract – a future at Everton.

After an impressive season in Hamburger, Everton’s new number 8 joined Lille last summer and has made 42 appearances in all competitions, including eight in the Champions League, making him a star in France as he caught the eyes of many. After the significant progress of Onana in all age groups for Belgium, including as a U-21 captain, he earned his international cap against the Netherlands in June.

Onana also added that he plays as a defensive midfielder or eighth box to box in any central midfield position. He is also open to playing wherever the manager needs him. He also said on taking the number 8, that he is a big fan of Kobe Bryant, so he casually chose the number 8 jersey. His work ethic and how he does things inspired Amadou, so he was excited to win the number at Everton.

Onana made these comments after the transfer deal had been finalized. The 21-year-old Belgium international, who only made 15 starts for Lille, agreed to a fee of £25.3million (€30m) with add-ons potentially taking the deal to Everton to £33.7m (€40m).