Everton sign Dwight McNeil from Burnley in £20m dealb
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Everton have signed Dwight McNeil from Burnley for £20million as Frank Lampard has made his first summer buy.
The winger has agreed a five-year contract at Goodison Park and is reunited with his former Burnley team-mate James Tarkowski, who Lampard recruited on a free transfer, and loan arrival Ruben Vinagre.
However, McNeil is the first buy as Everton start to spend the proceeds of Richarlison’s £60 million sale to Tottenham and have responded to Lampard’s comments that there was a “void” in attack after the Brazilian’s departure.
The 22-year-old, who was a product of Burnley’s academy, made 147 appearances for the Clarets, becoming an England Under-21 international.
McNeil said: “It is an amazing feeling to sign. I feel playing under a manager like Frank Lampard, he will help me to get my stats up – and that is what I want to do and improve my game.
“I am a direct runner with the ball. I like to get on the ball, cut inside and create chances for the team. I want to help the team as best as I can, work hard and do the defensive side of the game, too.”
Everton, who were conscious of a need to get players with better fitness records after being hit by injuries last season, noted that McNeil had only missed two Premier League games since December 2018.
Lampard said: “I have been a big admirer of Dwight for some time. He has huge talent and is exactly the type of player we want to bring into the squad to he
lp us improve.”
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