Everton Land Ex-Shakhtar Star Bernard on Four-Year Contract
By Tom Power
Toffees make fourth signing of summer with acquisition of Brazilian playmaker
Everton have completed the signing of free agent Bernard on a four-year contract.
The Toffees took to their official Twitter account with just minutes to spare of Thursday’s transfer deadline to make the announcement official.
https://twitter.com/Everton/status/1027581375451414528
Bernard, who will wear the number 20 jersey, will remain part of the furniture at Goodison Park until the summer of 2022 as a result.
Speaking to the club’s website after his unveiling, the 25-year-old playmaker revealed just why he had opted to reject the likes of Chelsea and AC Milan in favour of Everton.
Bernard admitted that Everton boss Marco Silva was key to his arrival, and explained that the Portuguese manager made him “feel confident about playing here” as he embarks on the next chapter of his playing career.
The Brazil international also stated that he was joining an “ambitious club” in Everton and that he would “try my hardest” to perform well for the Toffees whenever he was selected to do so.
Bernard becomes the second Brazilian to join Everton this summer after the £40m capture of Richarlison in July.
The ex-Shakhtar Donetsk star becomes the fourth signing of the Silva era following Richarlison, Lucas Digne and Joao Virginia through the door on Merseyside.
He won three Ukrainian top flight titles and three Ukrainian Cups during his five-year spell with Shakhtar, but elected to leave when his deal expired at the end of June.
Bernard was chased by a number of clubs during his spell in Eastern Europe, with Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool all linked with him at varying points.
Everton have, however, become the Premier League team to lure him to England, and he could make the bench for this season’s opening contest against Wolves on Saturday.
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Everton are also hoping to tie up deals for Barcelona’s Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes in the coming hours, with a £27m permanent deal for the Colombian centre-back and a £2m season-long loan deal for the Portuguese midfielder agreed.