Amadou Onana is the recent signing for Everton in the middle of the park. He arrived this summer from Lille for a reported £31.50m.
Despite appearing in only a handful of fixtures, the 21-year-old has shown promise. In an interview ahead of his debut the Belgian international discussed things on and off the field.
Apart from sharing his path to football and his family.Most interestingly, he revealed the reason for choosing Everton amidst interest from several clubs.
Amadou Onana said, “I’ve been through a lot of things and that’s the thing that kept me alive, kept me going through those times.”
“Everton’s reputation as a big club and one that cares was an important point,” he says. “Everything just felt right here.
“It’s hard to explain but I’m a guy who works with his feelings and I base decisions on that.
“The way people were talking to me, the way the manager was talking to me… Everything just felt ‘home’ straight away.
“I also watched the game at Goodison against Crystal Palace last season and it was just amazing. I wasn’t even there live and I had goosebumps watching the celebrations.
“That made me sit up and really see the passion these fans have for the Club. They don’t let players down.
“These were reasons why I chose Everton.”
“I had a sweet upbringing,” he says, with a wistful smile. “I enjoyed it and I learned a lot about how life goes.
“Growing up where I grew up, people didn’t have much. I saw people struggling, eating breakfast but not knowing where their evening meal was going to come from.”
