Toffees seal Yakubu signing

Everton have completed the signing of Middlesbrough striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni for a club record fee.



The Toffees successfully appealed for a work permit for the Nigerian after he was initially refused one for failing to play in 75% of his country's matches in the last two years. The club argued that the player's credentials to ply his trade in the Barclays Premier League have been made clear in the last four years.

The 24-year-old has signed a five-year contract and joins for £11.25million. The fee surpasses the £8.6million Everton paid Crystal Palace for Andrew Johnson last year.

that dream

He told evertonTV: "I am happy to be here. It is a great feeling to come over and meet a lot of good players and see the spirit that they have.

"I have always said that I want to play for a club that plays in Europe and I think they have the ambition to move forward and they want to finish in the first four and the Champions League and Uefa Cup and for me that is my dream. I know there is a long way to go and I want to be part of that - to be successful and to have that dream.

"I chose to go to Middlesbrough because they were in Europe. At the moment they are not doing it. I think I made the right decision to come to this place. It is a massive club and it is a great feeling. There are great players and you want to play for a big club."

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