Toffees sign £15m Fellaini

LIVERPOOL // Everton broke their own transfer record to sign the Belgium midfielder Marouane Fellaini on a five-year deal from Standard Liege. The Goodison Park outfit confirmed today that they have paid out £15 million (Dh99.2m) for the 20-year-old Fellaini before the close of the European summer transfer window. "This is fantastic news for everyone connected with the club," the acting Everton chief executive Robert Elstone said.

"We have signed one of European football's most exciting prospects, who will have a huge part to play at Everton over the next five years." In his two years at Liege, Fellaini scored 11 goals in 84 appearances. Coincidentally, the Belgian side are Everton's opponents in the first round of the Uefa Cup later this month, but Fellaini will be ineligible to play having already represented Laszlo Boloni's men in European competition this term.

Fellaini joins fellow summer recruits Louis Saha and Lars Jacobsen in David Moyes' squad. *AP