Aston Villa have announced the signing of Amadou Onana from Everton.
The 22-year-old midfielder becomes Villa's eighth signing in a busy summer transfer window, and the second within a week following the return of winger Jaden Philogene from Hull City.
Standing at 6ft 4in, Onana will further bolster Unai Emery's midfield options after Ross Barkley, Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea joined the club last month.
"There is a healthy atmosphere to grow as a player, also as a man." 🙌
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) July 22, 2024
The first interview with Amadou Onana! 💫
Who is Amadou Onana?
Born in Dakar, Senegal on 16 August 2001 to a Senegalese mother and Cameroonian father, Onana moved with his family to Belgium aged 11 years old.
Onana's football journey started as a youth player with Anderlecht, RWS Bruxelles and Zulte Waregem, before he signed for German club Hoffenheim in July 2018.
Following three years of further development, he joined Bundesliga 2 side Hamburg ahead of the 2020/21 season, where he made 26 appearances and earned praise from the club's director of sport Jonas Boldt.
“Technically, Amadou has almost perfect prerequisites,” Boldt said of the then-teenage midfielder. “He is fast, technically skilled, tall and strong in tackling.”
When Hamburg narrowly missed out on promotion to Germany’s top flight, Onana moved to Ligue 1 club Lille in August 2021 and, once again, made an instant impact with 42 appearances across all competitions in his debut season, including eight in the UEFA Champions League.
Capped at Under-17, Under-18, Under-19 and Under-21 level by Belgium, Onana earned the first of his 17 senior international caps against the Netherlands in June 2022.
He signed for Everton on a five-year deal in August that same year and, in his two seasons as Goodison Park, Onana made a total of 63 appearances, scoring three goals and providing two assists.
Onana will join his new team-mates for Villa's pre-season tour of the United States, which starts with a match against Columbus Crew on Saturday 27 July.
Villa begin their Premier League campaign at West Ham United on Saturday 17 August.
