Everton have completed the signing of Bournemouth striker Josh King on a six-month deal for a nominal fee.
The 29-year-old is out of contract at the Vitality Stadium this summer, and was first linked with a move away from the south coast as long ago as last summer.
West Ham were the main interested party then, and although David Moyes retained an interest in signing the Norwegian, he opted against bringing King to the London Stadium in favour of bringing Jesse Lingard to the club on loan from Manchester United in January. It's also thought that high wage demands may have scuppered any chance of moving to the east end.
Welcome to #EFC, Joshua King! ✍️? pic.twitter.com/LvSTScOsJa
— Everton (@Everton) February 2, 2021
Carlo Ancelotti's Everton then emerged alongside Fulham and Southampton as surprise contenders to sign King on deadline day, and after a number of contrasting reports claimed to know where his future lay, it's the Toffees who have won the race for his signature.
Indeed, Ancelotti is believed to have been the deciding factor for King, with The Athletic's David Ornstein reporting that the Italian personally convinced the Norwegian he was part of his plans.
King now has until the end of the current campaign to convince the Italian and the Toffees hierarchy that he is worthy of a longer spell on Merseyside.
Earlier in the day, Cenk Tosun was allowed to depart Merseyside and head back home to Besiktas, leaving Everton in dire need of another striking option to lighten the goalscoring burden on Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Even though King has failed to find the back of the net for Bournemouth in this season's Championship, he does have previous Premier League pedigree after netting 48 times in the top flight.
His best season to date came during 2016/17, when his 16-goal haul was enough to help Bournemouth finish inside the Premier League's top ten.
Source: 90min
