Everton have confirmed the signing of Davy Klaassen on a five-year contract from Ajax for a fee of €27 million euros. Klaassen, 24, is the Blues’ second signing of the summer following the club-record move for Jordan Pickford earlier in the day.

The Blues had been haggling with the Amsterdam giants for a number of days with Ajax reportedly hoping to get around €30 million euros for the player. The clubs have seemingly met in the middle of the valuations at €27 million euros.

Klaassen had been of interest to Ronald Koeman for a number of months and had been expected to be Everton’s first signing of the summer but the Blues willingness to push through a move for Pickford means he is relegated to second.

The signing casts further doubt on the future of Ross Barkley as Klaassen shows a willingness to get in and around the penalty area to both score and assist goals.

Klaassen racked up 20 goals and 12 assists during the last Eredivisie campaign as Ajax were pipped to the title by PSV.

Klaassen keen to show his class

After coming through the ranks at Ajax, Klaassen had to make the right move to the correct club in the next step of his career. Klaassen told EvertonFC.com: “I talked to him (Ronald Koeman) about the Club and everything we want to achieve and he was really positive.

“It’s difficult to leave Ajax but I think this is a good step for me now and I’m really looking forward to my time here.”

The former Ajax captain is ready to make his mark on the Premier League. He said: “I like to score and create goals and I like to win.”

“I want us to get better and better as a team and we will see where we go, but I have a good feeling about it.”

The box to box midfielder should get a chance to mark his mark during the Europa League qualification rounds later this summer as Everton kick-off their season earlier than most.

Ronald Koeman comments

Klaassen had been a target for Koeman for some time and the Everton boss even made his feelings known on the player towards the end of the season when he stated that Klaassen was “Interesting.”

Speaking of his delight to sign the player, Koeman told EvertonFC.com: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to bring Davy to Everton. He’s a player who is only 24 but has a lot of experience and is a leader on the pitch.”

The Dutch boss also added that Klaassen is “hardworking and likes to press” and also will give Everton “more creativity and goals.”

Koeman and his team will now shift their focus to the defensive back line as they look at trying to sign their top targets in Burnley’s Michael Keane and Las Palmas Mauricio Lemos.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Connor Bennett
Everton editor for VAVEL UK - contributing since 2015. Premier League accredited journalist. Journalism graduate from Liverpool. Writing about Football, eSports and the NFL. Email: [email protected] | Twitter: ConnorBennett14