Premier League side Everton have officially announced the signing of striker Beto on a permanent transfer from Udiense.
The 25-year-old has moved on for an undisclosed fee, reported by Sky Sports as well as Fabrizio Romano to be in excess of €30m (£25.8m). The towering Portuguese has put pen to paper on a four-year deal at Goodison Park.
Beto has spent the last two seasons in Udine, originally joining on a season-long loan deal from Portimonense in the summer of 2021, before signing permanently just over a year ago.
Since then, he has twice finished as Udinese’s top goal scorer in Serie A, with 11 from 28 in his debut Serie A campaign and 10 from 33 in the season just gone.
The Lisbon-born centre-forward has become Everton’s fifth signing of the summer, and it has been confirmed that he will wear the n0. 14 shirt during his first season on Merseyside.
Speaking to the club’s website, Beto noted that his personal hero Samuel Eto’o was a major contributing factor in his decision to join the Toffees.
“It feels good to join Everton. I have always appreciated them as a club. Everton is a big, big club in the Premier League, well respected and has a big history. It was easy to make this move.
“When a club like Everton tries to buy you in January and then comes again in the summer, you feel like, ‘Okay, they want me for real’, so that made the decision easy for me as well. My idol, Samuel Eto’o, played here, too, which makes it even more special,” he said.