CONFIRMED: Everton sign Anwar El Ghazi on loan from Aston Villa

Everton have completed their third signing of the January transfer window with Anwar El Ghazi joining the Blues.

The Aston Villa winger will come over on loan for the remainder of the season with one more year left on his current contract. There has been no mention of an obligation to buy in the loan deal, with a pricetag of £10-15 million mentioned.

The 26-year-old is a versatile forward, and though he’s primarily right-footed, he has played almost equally on both sides of the pitch for the Villans since 2018. El Ghazi is Dutch-born and has represented the Oranje back in 2015, but also holds Moroccan citizenship. He has featured 119 times for Villa in all competitions, scoring 26 times and picking up 16 assists. Before moving to England, he also played for Ajax Amsterdam and LOSC Lille.

Speaking soon after completing his medical and signing on, El Ghazi said -

“I’m really excited. Everton is a big club, I cannot wait to get started. I want to show my quality to my teammates, to the Club and, of course, the fans. I want to put a smile on their faces.

“I’m ready and willing to work hard for it and for all of us to work together.”

The addition of El Ghazi means Everton are now well-stocked on both wings with Richarlison, Demarai Gray and Anthony Gordon on the left, and Andros Townsend, Alex Iwobi and now the Dutchman on the right. A six-month loan is a good trial period to see how he can contribute to the side, and as long as Rafa Benitez gives him adequate minutes to prevent a Josh King - Carlo Ancelotti fiasco, an opportunity for the Toffees to eventually replace Townsend who will be 31 this summer.

Fullback Lucas Digne has gone the other way, and despite earlier indications that El Ghazi was to be a makeweight in that deal, eventually the two transfers have been completed separately. There was also some talk leading up to today that the signing of the Dutchman was influenced by the connection between super-agents Jorge Mendes and Kia Joorabchian and their relationship with Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri.