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Everton today completed the signing of Yakubu for a Club record fee after successfully appealing for a work permit for the Nigerian striker.
The 24-year-old centre-forward has penned a five year deal for the Blues a week after Everton agreed an £11.25m deal with Middlesbrough.
The completion of the deal was delayed because an initial application for a work permit was rejected as Yakubu has not figured in the required 75 per cent of Nigeria's internationals in the last two years.
However, Yakubu was allocated a work permit following an appeal hearing in Sheffield today, with Everton successfully arguing that the player's credentials to ply his trade in the Barclays Premier League have been made clear in the last four years.
Having completed his move to Goodison, Yakubu becomes the Club's record-signing, surpassing the £8.6m paid to Crystal Palace for Andrew Johnson last year.
Yakubu, Everton's fourth major signing of the summer, is delighted to become an Everton player. He told evertonTV exclusively: "I am happy to be here. 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.
"I know there is a long way to go and I want to be part of that - to be successful and to have that dream.
"I chose to go to Middlesbrough because they were in Europe. At the moment they are not doing it. I think I made the right decision to come to this place. It is a massive club and it is a great feeling. There are great players and you want to play for a big club."
Yakubu boasts an impressive goalscoring record, with only Thierry Henry having netted more Premier League goals in the last four years.
He began his career in England with Portsmouth in January, 2003. He netted 36 times in 81 Premier League appearances for Pompey before switching to The Riverside in a £7.5m deal in the summer of 2005.
He continued his fine scoring record there, grabbing 35 goals in 103 outings for the Teesiders in all competitions.
Having completed his transfer to Goodison, Yakubu could make his debut for the Blues in Saturday's Premier League fixture with Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium.
To see an extensive interview with the latest addition to the Everton ranks, visit evertonTV now.
Matt Cook
all the best Yak!!! You will do it no prob!
Agree with Matt?
Thursday 30th Aug 2007 22:00