Walcott: Rooney Lure Me to Everton

The 47-cap England international, 28, signed for the Toffees on Wednesday in a deal reportedly worth £20m, joining Rooney at Goodison Park ahead of Saturday’s clash with West Brom.

"I had numerous chats with Wayne and that was one massive factor which really tempted me to come to Everton," Walcott told EvertonTV.

"He told me it was a great place to play football and a club that is on the up. Those are the reasons I came here. 

"This is a club with great history. The fans are brilliant, they are always passionate … and I used to find it very tough playing here.

"You want to be part of something and Wayne feels Everton are really going to improve."

Walcott has been unable to find the net in the Premier League this season, making just six appearances for the Gunners, but has scored a total of four goals across 16 matches in all competitions.

Having managed to score 10 goals from 28 league appearances last season, Walcott insists he has plenty to offer the Toffees.

"I was very proud of what I did last season – scoring 19 goals," he said. "I want to bring that to Everton Football Club.

"I want to be part of the attacking force that is here. It always comes down to hard work and I think the manager here will get the best out of all the players.

"I just want to play football and enjoy it again. I feel this move will make that happen."

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Theo Walcott Agrees £20 Million Everton Transfer As Gunners Await on Mkhitaryan

Arsenal have sanctioned a move for Theo Walcott ahead of a busy few days in the January transfer window

The England International is on the verge of signing for the toffees for a fee of £20m, and Goal understands that Arsenal will not sanction the sale of Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United until they have agreed to sign Henrikh Mkhitaryan as a replacement.

Arsenal's longest-serving player Walcott has scored 108 goals for the north London but has found game time limited this season in a year when he is desperate to be included in Gareth Southgate's England squad for the World Cup in Russia.

Everton offered the most attractive financial package to Walcott, who is due to undergo a medical on Tuesday afternoon and could be included in Sam Allardyce's squad for Saturday's Premier League game at home to West Brom.

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Baggies' Winless Run Continues

West Brom boss Alan Pardew is still searching for his first win after the Boxing Day clash with Everton finished goalless at the Hawthorns.West Brom 0 Everton 0Rondon misses early chance for AlbionDawson off target with two headersPickford denies Brunt before HTFoster keeps out Niasse at the death

Match Summary

The Baggies had chances to end their alarming winless run which now stands at 18 games, but Salomon Rondon and Craig Dawson failed to deliver in front of goal against a Toffees team who remain unbeaten under Sam Allardyce.

Full Report

The hosts should have taken the lead with their first chance on six minutes when Jay Rodriguez's cross from the left picked out Rondon, but the striker missed the target from inside the six-yard box.

Rodriguez then failed to trouble Jordan Pickford with a shot that he dragged wide of the near post on 11 minutes, while Dawson sent a header over from six yards out after getting on the end of Matt Phillips' cross eight minutes later.

Dawson was off target with another header on 36 minutes from Chris Brunt's cross on the right, and the Northern Ireland international finally tested Pickford two minutes before half-time with a strike that he kept out at full stretch.

Albion were on top in the first half and they continued the push for the opener after the break as Rondon beat Mason Holgate with a sharp turn before blasting high and wide on 50 minutes.

The Toffees had a rare chance a minute later when Ashley Williams met Gylfi Sigurdsson's free-kick, but his looping header was gathered by Ben Foster.

Rodriguez wasted another opportunity for WBA as he headed wide of the mark on 64 minutes, while at the other end Tom Davies latched onto a clearance from a free-kick and curled a shot over the crossbar five minutes later.

Dawson did get a header on target in the 78th minute, but Pickford made a routine save, before Phillips lashed an effort way over the goal six minutes from time.

Kieran Gibbs sliced wide of goal moments later when Brunt's cross from the right fell at his feet, and the Merseysiders almost made them pay in the final minute as Omar Niasse was denied twice in succession by Foster after breaking into the box from the left.

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Basics Has Really Worked For Us - Wayne Rooney

Rooney scored from the spot after missing an earlier penalty to seal a 3-1 victory at Goodison Park on Monday night.

Leroy Fer opened the scoring for the Swans before Dominic Calvert-Lewin slotted in the rebound from Rooney’s missed spot kick.

Gylfi Sigurdsson and Rooney then netted as Everton sealed a fourth win in five league games since Sam Allardyce took over from Ronald Koeman.

After moving up to ninth in the table, Rooney praised his new boss for turning things around.

"We showed great character to come back - four weeks ago we would have lost that game.

"We're moving in the right direction and hopefully over Christmas we can pick up some more points.

"I think the manager has got us back to basics.

"There were small things we were doing wrong in the first part of the season. If we went behind, we had a feeling we couldn't get back into it.

"[We are] staying solid, staying in the game, then trying to express ourselves. That's what we've worked on at the training ground."

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Toffees Improving In Every Game - Sigurdsson

Leroy Fer had put the Swans ahead at Goodison Park after 35 minutes, and after Wayne Rooney's penalty, on the stroke of half-time, was well saved by Lukasz Fabianski, Dominic Calvert-Lewin followed up for the equaliser.

Sigurdsson then gave the Toffees the lead on 64 minutes with a sensational strike, before Rooney stepped up and netted a 73rd minute penalty to ultimately seal the win.

The club head into the busy Christmas schedule on a six-match unbeaten run, and face Chelsea, West Brom, Bournemouth and Manchester United all in the next two weeks.

But after netting his third goal of the season, the Icelandic playmaker says Everton improving game by game, and showed their character after a slow start against the Swans.

After the game, the former Swansea man said: "We were really flat in the first half, there was not enough energy about us but I thought second half we got on the front foot.

"Obviously it was nice to get the second goal, it gave us confidence going into the last 30 minutes. I thought we controlled it after going 2-1 up.

“We knew they would keep the ball really well because they always do but it was more down to us being poor in the first 40 minutes, not like ourselves but we raised it in the second half and I thought we deserved it in the end. 

“We are defending better as a team, all the way from the front. We knew that if we won a couple of games the confidence would come back and that’s happened. Now we’re looking forward to the Christmas period and to continue to improve.”

He added: "It was a strange feeling playing against (my former club) but it’s good for us, puts us in ninth and it was an important three points after an important few weeks.”

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We Will Keep Pushing Till The End - Clement

Swansea were beaten 3-1 away at Goodison Park despite taking the lead through Leroy Fer in the 35th minute. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Gylfi Sigurdsson, and Wayne Rooney all found the back of the visitors' net to keep Swansea at the bottom of the standings.

City have won only once in their last 10 games, against West Brom at home, and lost eight. During the poor run they fell from 13th in the standings to rock bottom. The pressure has continued to build on Clement due to the disappointing results, but he is prepared to fight until the bitter end.

“It’s a difficult job being a manager of any team and at any level. You want to win, you want to play well, every game," the Englishman was quoted as saying by The Guardian. 

"It’s certainly not something I’ve been used to in my career. Even here last year, we were winning more games and playing better. As an assistant I was losing one in 10 and winning nine. It’s the opposite now. 

"It’s not a very nice experience, I’m learning a lot from it, learning a lot about myself, and I will keep fighting. I will keep working hard. I worked very hard to get to this position and I’m not going to give up on it. I will keep going.”

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Sam Allardyce Hails Genius Sigurdsson

Sam Alladyce has hailed Sigurdsson. After Leroy Fer had put the visitors to Goodison Park ahead with 35 minutes played, Dominic Calvert-Lewin reacted quickest to a saved Wayne Rooney penalty on the stroke of half-time for a timely equaliser.

Sigurdsson then fired the Toffees into the lead with a excellent effort on 64 minutes before Rooney made sure from the spot at the second time of asking, with 74 minutes played.

Speaking after the game, a delighted Allardyce, who remains unbeaten in his five games in charge of Everton, told the club's official website: "Anybody watching would have seen that we were below par for a performance that we wanted in the first half here.

"It was a case of us being too negative with our passing. I think when you become negative in your passing, it encourages the opposition to come and shut you down."

He added: "Then we changed the way we played, pushing Tom Davies on and Siggy...wow...it’s just what you need, isn’t it? He changes the game. We needed a bit of genius, a bit of brilliant piece of work from a player in your squad that can change the game when it’s in the balance. 

“That’s what you need and that’s what we got. That’s what it’s all about. That [goal] took us on to win the game comfortably in the end and we played a lot better in the second half."

Allardyce said that with Yannick Bolasie, Ross Barkley and Leighton Baines all coming back from injury soon, he is uncertain as to whether or not to dip into the January transfer market.

"We've got a number of players out injured that will come back and that will make us so much better as a squad," he told Sky Sports.

"Those players have a huge amount of Premier League experience that you can put in when they're ready with all the games coming up. The quicker we get the squad into place, the more I can look at the market and say 'how much do I really need?'

"Yes, a frontman, if there's another goalscorer. I'm hugely pleased with what Dominic has done this season, and if there is a striker around in January who is good enough for Everton is another matter."

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Everton Discusses With Sam Allardyce Representatives

Everton have held preliminary discussions with Sam Allardyce’s advisors as Farhad Moshiri puts together a contingency plan for the club’s next manager.

Sportsmail understands Moshiri, Everton’s major shareholder, has held talks with representatives of Allardyce, who revealed on Monday that he would give deep consideration to the opportunity of “putting them back together”.

Moshiri is considering a number of candidates, with Burnley’s Sean Dyche and Watford’s Marco Silva amongst them; Allardyce would be immediately available and could work on a contract until the end of the season.

Everton’s hope is that David Unsworth, who was placed in temporary charge after Ronald Koeman was sacked on October 23, wins the next two matches – against Lyon, on Thursday evening, and Watford on Sunday – to settle the situation down.

Unsworth has made no secret of his desire to step up from his role as Under-23 boss on a permanent basis but he has accepted, after losing against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and Leicester on Sunday, that his prospects will be determined in the next four days.

‘That doesn’t scare me, because I know the game and I know that in the end you will be judged on performances,’ said Unsworth, who has left senior figures Wayne Rooney, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines on Merseyside to be ready for the game with Watford.

‘I think performances have improved for a game and a half but within those performances, you’ve got to try and dig out some results. So I want to win (here); I want to perform. Sunday is a massive game as well. It’s a cup final, for me, and I think we’ve got to play it like a cup final.

‘I wouldn’t know who was in the running for [the manager’s job]. I’ve heard certain things, but it’s a top job, and I’m not surprised with whoever would be linked with it. We just carry on, day by day, and hopefully we will be in a better position on Sunday.’

For all that Koeman paid the ultimate price for Everton’s dismal form, Ashley Williams – who will captain the side in Lyon – recognises the players must take their share of the responsibility; he gave a frank insight into how the dressing room has been affected.

‘It hurts, definitely, he was someone we all liked and you feel responsible as a player,’ said Williams. ‘We're disappointed for everyone; it's not nice when you're not winning games and it effects everyone. When a manager loses his job and you do take responsibility for that.’

Everton will be eliminated after four games if they lose in Lyon and Italian side Atalanta avoid defeat against Apollon Limassol.

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Manchester United keen on Seamus Coleman

LVG is in search for quality right-back as Rafael hasn’t played up to his expectations since returning from injury. Manchester United boss feels that Rafael has much more potential in him but he isn’t able to play according to his not up to his mark.

 

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Everton sign Samuel Eto'o

Everton have signed former Chelsea, Barcelona and Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o on a two-year contract.

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Arsenal Top Star Suffers Ankle Injury

Olivier Giroud is a doubt for Arsenal's Champions League qualifier against Besiktas after injuring his ankle in the 2-2 draw at Mersyside against Everton.

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