‘They want me’: £25m striker confirms Everton wanted to buy him in January

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Beto has confirmed that Everton tried to sign him in January.

Speaking in an interview with the club, the striker revealed that the Toffees’ long-standing interest in him made him realise they really wanted him.

Beto joined Udinese on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy two years ago and went onto net 21 goals in Serie A.

The 25-year-old quickly caught the eye of Everton, who signed him in a deal worth around £25 million this summer.

Beto got off to a great start as he netted on his debut in the Carabao Cup, while he is still waiting for his first goal in the Premier League after starting their past two games.

While the Toffees waited until the end of the window to make a move for Beto, it appears that they were interested in signing him for a lot longer than that.

Beto could have joined Everton back in January

“Everton is a historical club,” Beto said.. “A big, big club in the Premier League, well-respected and they have a big history. It was easy to make this move.

“Also, when a club like this tries to buy in January and then comes again in the summer, you feel like, ‘Okay, they want me for real’, so that made the decision even easier for me as well.

“I feel like my style is a really good fit with Everton.

“It feels really good to be here. There have been so many big strikers who have played here and we also have important strikers in the team right now. It feels really good to be here and I want to make my mark.

“I know I can improve on a lot of things. I know I didn’t arrive at my prime yet so I hope Everton can help me to arrive there.”

Everton were desperate to add a forward to their ranks back in January and eventually ended up recalling Ellis Simms from his loan spell at Sunderland.

However, it looks like things could have been very different if they had signed Beto seven months earlier.

It’s unclear why the forward didn’t move to Goodison Park during the winter transfer window, though it would have been interesting to see how Everton’s campaign ended if he was already at the club.