EVERTON’S NEW SIGNING Conor Coady has pledged to “help the club move forward” after completing a season-long loan move from Wolves.
The Wanderers captain has returned to his home city eight years after leaving Liverpool, where he was an academy graduate.
“It’s incredible to join Everton. As soon as I heard the interest, from the manager but also the football club itself, I really wanted to be part of it straight away. I’m over the moon to join,” the England international told evertontv.
“I’ve grown up around the city, I know the football club, how big this club is and what it means to the supporters.
“I’m someone who was desperate to come here, to play for this club. I’ve got family and friends who are massive Evertonians.
“I’m here to give absolutely everything I’ve got for this football club. It’s important I work as hard as I can to help my team-mates, help the club move forward and make people proud.”
Coady is manager Frank Lampard’s fourth signing of the summer, following Burnley duo James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeil plus Sporting Lisbon defender back Ruben Vinagre to Goodison Park.
The Toffees’ move for the 29-year-old was accelerated by Ben Godfrey breaking his leg against Chelsea at the weekend – he has been ruled out for three months after surgery – and fellow centre-back Yerry Mina limping off injured with an ankle problem which requires assessment by a specialist later this week.
“We are delighted to bring a player of Conor’s quality and vast experience to Everton and he fits into how we want to play as a team,” Lampard said.
“As well as being one of the Premier League’s most reliable defenders and an England international, his leadership skills will be of huge benefit to us, too.”
Coady adds more experience – he has captained Wolves for the last four years and has 10 England caps – and is a reliable figure, having played 196 times out of a possible 198 league games in the last five seasons.
He will strengthen a defence which conceded a club-record 66 Premier League goals last season and it is understood the Toffees have an option to buy at the end of the campaign.
Everton are also understood to be on the verge of confirming the £33million signing of Lille midfielder Amadou Onana.
The 20-year-old Belgium international was at Goodison Park on Saturday to watch the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea after undergoing a medical earlier in the day.
Plans are also well advanced to bring former midfielder Idrissa Gueye back to the club from Paris St Germain, the 32-year-old having left in 2019 after three seasons.
But the quest for reinforcements up front continues with striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin out for potentially six weeks with a knee problem.
Director of football Kevin Thelwell, who worked at Wolves until late last season and knows Coady well, said: “Myself and Frank continue to work closely with our chairman and we are confident we will secure the further quality we’ve targeted between now and the end of the month.”
Meanwhile, Wolves have signed Valencia forward Goncalo Guedes on a five-year contract.
Just minutes after confirming Coady had left to join Everton, the club announced the arrival of the 25-year-old former Benfica academy graduate.
“We have been monitoring Goncalo for a long time and are very pleased to welcome him to Wolves,” said chairman Jeff Shi.
“He has natural talent and has performed very well across Europe and for his country, and we think he is well suited to the Premier League.
“We are always looking to improve the squad with high quality, and have been patient to make sure we got the right player.
“Goncalo worked with Bruno at Benfica and played with many members of our squad previously, so we’re confident he will settle quickly into the group here.
“Very few transfers are ever straightforward, and this was no exception, with a number of clubs trying to secure the player right up until the last minute.
“Now, we are delighted that Goncalo is a Wolves player and look forward to giving him a warm welcome at Molineux this Saturday.”
Guedes, a Portugal international, scored 13 times in his best LaLiga campaign last season and left Valencia with 36 goals in 176 appearances.
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