Everton complete £5m move for Josh King from Bournemouth after Norwegian striker rejected Fulham and Southampton approaches
- Everton and Fulham have been battling it out for Bournemouth striker Josh King
- Both Premier League clubs verbally agreed a deal for the Norwegian
- But King has chosen to team up with Carlo Ancelotti’s Toffees side
Joshua King has joined Everton in a deal worth up to £5million after choosing Carlo Ancelotti’s men over Fulham.
The 29-year-old, who also turned down Southampton, joins on an initial six month contract with the option to extend at the end of the season.
Bournemouth had verbally agreed a deal with both Everton and Fulham late on deadline day.
Josh King has made a deadline day departure from Bournemouth to Everton
King returns to the Premier League after half-a-season in the Championship
Scott Parker had accepted that his Fulham side were unlikely to sign a striker on their tight budget this window.
However, owner Shahid Khan appeared willing to splash the cash in order to aid their fight against relegation though King has now moved elsewhere.
King’s contract at the Vitality Stadium was due to expire at the end of the season having joined the club from Blackburn back in 2015.
Bournemouth could have cashed in on King in the summer of 2020, with the club reportedly rejecting a £20m offer from Manchester United.
Scott Parker and Carlo Ancelotti were keen to improve options to help their league fortunes
Southampton were also interested in signing King during the January window, however the striker’s wages were higher than the south-coast club was willing to pay.
King has also had interest from other clubs including West Ham last summer and Italian side Torino.
Everton meanwhile have strikers Cenk Tosun and Moise Kean away on loan and were keen to bolster their attacking choices.