LONDON – Everton has signed Andros Townsend on a two-year deal after the winger’s contract at fellow Premier League club Crystal Palace ended while veteran goalkeeper Asmir Begovic penned an initial one-year contract, the club announced.
A veteran of nearly 250 Premier League appearances with Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Newcastle United, former England international Townsend spent five seasons with Palace and is Everton’s first signing under Rafa Benitez.
“Everton is a massive football club and has big ambitions next season. As the old cliché goes, it was a no-brainer,” Townsend, 30, told the Everton website.
“Rafa is very experienced. He does a lot of work on the tactical side on the training pitch, he leaves no stone unturned. He’s a great man-manager and he’s always talking to you. I’m sure he will be very successful here,” he added according to Reuters.
With Begovic, Everton said they had the option to extend his contract for a further year.
Begovic was a free agent after his contract with Championship side Bournemouth expired. The 34-year-old won the Premier League title with Chelsea in the 2016-17 season.
“The ambition is to get this club to where it belongs. We want to be challenging for those European spots, challenging for trophies and being in that upper echelon of the league,” Begovic said.
Everton, who finished 10th last season; begin the new league campaign at home to Southampton on Aug. 14.
Elsewhere, Brentford has signed Nigeria international Frank Onyeka from Danish side Midtjylland on a five-year contract, the newly promoted Premier League club said.
The 23-year-old midfielder is Brentford’s first signing as a Premier League side and has spent his entire professional career at Midtjylland, where he made his senior debut in 2017.
Onyeka made 123 appearances and scored 17 goals during his time in Denmark. Midtjylland won the Danish Superliga in the 2019-20 season, and Onyeka also helped the team win 2017-18 league title and 2019 Danish Cup.
“We think he is a strong addition to the squad, and we are looking forward to working with him. He is a very dynamic player,” Brentford manager Thomas Frank told the club’s website.
“He has come from the Danish league and was one of the best midfield players in that league, we think he has the potential to develop further. All the coaches here are looking forward to working with Frank and pushing him to a higher level.”
Onyeka made his only appearance for Nigeria in a friendly against Algeria in October.
Brentford, who ended their 74-year exile from the top flight by beating Swansea City 2-0 in the Championship play-off final in May, host Arsenal in their Premier League opener on August 13.
