Everton have announced the arrival of Mainz midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin on a five-year deal running until the summer of 2024.
The Toffees have moved quickly to secure Gbamin’s services after selling Idrissa Gueye to Paris Saint-Germain for £28m at the start of the week. The Ivory Coast international has signed for an undisclosed fee believed to be in excess of £20m.
Everton were linked with a move for Celta Vigo midfielder Stanislav Lobotka but have instead chosen Gbamin as Gueye’s replacement.
The 23-year-old was included in the Ivory Coast squad for the Africa Cup of Nations tournament earlier this summer and made three appearances for the Elephants.
Gbamin has spent the last three years at Mainz and will now provide competition with fellow summer signing Fabian Delph to hold Everton’s midfield.
Gbamin has completed at least 25 more tackles than any other Mainz player in the Bundesliga since August 2016 (182).
Upon signed for Everton, the Ivorian stated: “It’s a big moment with a lot of emotion and now it’s on me to prove on the pitch why they bought me.
“I’m excited because Everton is a great club here in England with a big history and ambition so I didn’t think for more than a moment - I wanted to come here."
Toffees boss Marco Silva added: “Jean-Philippe is a player who has developed really well during the last three seasons and achieved a very good level of performance playing in a high level competition like the Bundesliga.
“He is ready for this challenge - to come and help us to keep getting better. He is full of ambition to play for Everton, fits with our model and he will give us different solutions in our midfield.”
