Conor Coady says he is ready to give "absolutely everything" to Everton after signing for the club on a season-long loan.
The 29-year-old - the fourth arrival of the transfer window - has moved to Goodison Park after the Blues secured an agreement with Wolverhampton Wanderers. The centre back has signed after an opening weekend of the season in which he was left out of Wolves' first team while Everton lost two centre backs to serious injuries.
Coady had been subject to interest from Everton earlier in the summer but that ramped up last week, paving the way for the deal announced tonight. Welcoming the England international, manager Frank 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.”
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In his first interview after signing for Everton, Coady said: "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. 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."
Coady is from Merseyside and rose through the ranks at Liverpool FC before signing permanently for Huddersfield. At Wolves he led the side into the Premier League and captained them until as recently as last season. He follows the arrival at centre back of James Tarkowski. Last season, as injuries blighted Everton's campaign, Lampard spoke of his desire to make his squad more robust. Tarkowski has played more than 30 games in each of the past five seasons while Coady has played 196 of the last 198 games for Wolves.
Coady told evertontv: “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 teammates, help the club move forward and make people proud.”
Everton's director of football Kevin Thelwell, who worked with Coady in a former role as sporting director at Wolves, heralded the new signing and suggested more were to come. He said: “Conor is a top-quality player who I have had the pleasure of knowing for many years. I have no doubt he will be an excellent addition to Everton and our squad. Myself and Frank continue to work closely with our chairman, who has unrivalled experience in player negotiations and we are confident that, together, we will secure the further quality we’ve targeted between now and the end of the month.”
Ruben Vinagre and Dwight McNeil have signed for the Blues alongside Tarkowski and now Coady. Midfielder Amadou Onana is expected to be confirmed as an Everton player in the coming days while the club is also pursuing Idrissa Gueye from Paris St Germain.
On the confirmation of Coady's arrival, Lampard added: “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."
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