Amadou Onana believes "everything just fits" for him at Everton after Frank Lampard, his team-mates and Blues fans helped him settle on Merseyside.
The young midfielder moved from Senegal to Belgium aged 11 and his short career in football has already taken him to Germany, France and now England. Some of those transitions have been hard and the 21-year-old has previously singled out his move from Belgium to Germany as the most difficult.
But there have been no problems with him settling down on Merseyside, he said, meaning he can concentrate on developing into the player he believes he can be - and on helping the Everton rise up the table.
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Onana moved to the Blues from Lille in August and had an immediate impact on his debut as a substitute at Aston Villa. While he conceded possession in the build-up to Villa's second goal, he responded by seeking the ball and creating the Lucas Digne own goal that offered Everton a route back into the game. His bravery offered a positive Lampard and Blues fans could take from the game.
Onana has mixed feelings when he reflects on that chaotic nine minutes but said his debut "meant a lot to me" and, of his courage after Villa's second, feels: "I think this is just the man I am. I am not scared of anything. I am not going to get down because I have a setback or whatever. I am just going to keep going and give my best until the last minute."
Onana has since established himself in the first XI, Lampard favouring a central midfield that includes the big summer signing alongside Idrissa Gueye and Alex Iwobi. And Onana says he is beginning to gel with both players: "They are two very talented players. Idrissa with his experience brings something different, Alex with his skills and abilities is a fantastic player too. They help me and they make it easier for me to perform and it is nice having those two backing me up."
After being played further forward against Leicester City and Bournemouth in the final week before the World Cup break, how Everton should use Onana has become a subject of debate. Lampard has even acknowledged he is still working to establish the best position for Onana within that three-man partnership.
And asked whether he prefers to be alongside Iwobi in a more advanced role, or deeper and alongside Gueye, Onana said: "I think I have the ability to do both but I am here for the team, so wherever the gaffer needs me is where I am going to play."
Lampard was crucial to Onana's decision to join Everton, the Blues boss calling the player to discuss a potential move and his future during negotiations. That relationship has grown over the past six months and Lampard was in touch to wish Onana luck during his exploits with Belgium in the World Cup.
Onana said: "It's been amazing. He is maybe the best coach for me to learn from because he has played that position and, you know, what a legend - but a humble guy, too, who likes to build and create a relationship with his players and that is the type of coach I like."
Lampard and his new team-mates have been crucial to helping Onana settle into life in the UK and in the Premier League. Having made his international debut, moved to Everton and then played in a World Cup, it has been some year.
Looking back on the past 12 months, Onana said: "It feels like my work paid off. Everything that happened, goals that I set myself one year before, I achieved them. One of my biggest dreams was to play for Belgium in a World Cup and I did it last month. It is just a great feeling knowing that all the hard work I put in is paying off.
"[At Everton] I feel good because I just settled. Everybody here helped me to settle as fast as possible. My first months here have been great. The performances right now of the team aren't that great but we will try to make it better. But the atmosphere - everything just fits to me. I have been doing good in the Premier League so I am happy, but I know there is a lot more to do to get to where I want to be and for us as a team to get to where we want to be. So there is a lot of work to do."
Since returning from Qatar, Onana's focus has turned to improving Everton's fortunes after a difficult final week of action saw the club fall to just one place and one point above the relegation zone. As work continues at Finch Farm ahead of the first game back against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day, Onana said: "The season has been tough for us as a team but I still we think we have a great team with great individuals. I think great people but also great footballers. The last results were a bit tough but everybody in the club is trying to turn that around because we know we are capable of it."
Onana has recently launched a membership programme, called the Insiders Club, which offers the opportunity to closely follow his career and gain exclusive insight and enter competitions. Explaining the initiative, he said: "These are digital memberships but they are completely free. It is, for me, a way to give back to fans because the support I have had these last six months and at the World Cup has been amazing. And for me it is the right time at Christmas and the end of the year to give back. They can get the chance to win signed shirts, cards, tickets, it is just my way to give back to them because the support I have had since I came here has been amazing."
More details are available here.
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