Everton coughed up a whopping £11.25m to lure in Middlesbrough striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu for a five-year deal at the Goodison Park.
The deal, a record signing for the club, overcame some hiccups as Yakubu was initially denied a work permit for not appearing in 75% of Nigeria’s matches in last two years. Everton then appealed against it and eventually Yakubu was given a permit which cleared the decks for the deal.
Yakubu was naturally elated after the wrangle over work permit was over. He later shared his feeling in the Everton website and said
It is a great feeling to come over and meet a lot of good players and see the spirit that they have.
I have always said that I want to play for a club that plays in Europe and I think they have the ambition to move forward and they want to finish in the first four and the Champions League and Uefa Cup and for me that is my dream.
He also justified his decision to leave Middlesbrough and said it was the right decision for him because he always wanted to play for a bigger club and in company of some of the better players in contemporary soccer.
And it’s not for nothing that Everton shelled out so much of money for the Nigerian. Yakubu netted 29 goals in 65 Premier League matches for Middlesbrough, to be placed second, after Thierry Henry, in the goal-getters’ list.
