Everton smash record for Fellaini

Everton have signed Standard Liege midfielder Marouane Fellaini for a club record fee of £15m.

The 20-year-old, who has played 10 times for Belgium and represented his country at the Beijing Olympics, has signed a five-year deal.

Everton, who had already signed Louis Saha from Manchester United and Wigan's Carlo Nash, confirmed the fee may rise.

"We have one of Europe's most exciting prospects," acting chief executive Robert Elstone told the club website.

"This is fantastic news for everyone connected with the club. He will have a huge part to play at Everton over the next five years.

"I spoke with chairman Bill Kenwright and manager David Moyes shortly after concluding the deal and they are delighted we have managed to secure his services.

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"It shows that the money is there, just a shame we had to wait until the last minute of the last day to see the evidence"
Bluenoze

"It came late on, like a lot of the big deals in the Premier League, but he's with us and we look forward to welcoming him to Goodison."

The deal ends a frustrating summer transfer window for Everton, which had led to Moyes coming under pressure following his failure to attract players to Goodison Park.

Fellaini joined Liege - who are Everton's forthcoming opponents in the first round of the Uefa Cup - in 2006 and made 84 appearances for the Belgian champions, scoring 11 times.

During the Beijing Games, Fellaini was sent off in the opening game against Brazil following two yellow cards.

Earlier, Everton completed the signing of striker Saha and goalkeeper Nash, although they missed out on Inter Milan winger Victor Obinna after a work permit application was turned down.

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