Everton have completed the signing of Nikica Jelavic from Scottish outfit Rangers for a fee touted to be in the region of £5.5m. The 26-year old has signed a four and a half year contract with the Toffees and is their third signing of the winter transfer window after Landon Donovan and Darron Gibson.
The Croatian started his senior career at Hajduk Split in 2002 and spent a total of 5 seasons there, making only 41 appearances and finding the back of the net 8 times. He then signed for Belgian club Zulte Waregem where he played a single season, making 25 appearances and scoring only 3 goals in the process.
The goal shy striker was then snapped up by Rapid Viena, where he saw his stature rise with 40 goals in 93 appearances in just over 2 seasons. His performances caught the eye of Rangers, who signed him in the summer of 2010. Since making the move to Scotland, Jelavic has scored quite regularly, amassing 36 goals in 55 appearances.
For Everton this is somewhat of a coup. The Toffees have struggled in front of goal and have managed to score only 22 goals in the league so far, a tally even lesser than the likes of Relegation prospects Blackburn and Wolves. In fact their goalscoring woes are the reason for their league position, where they are behind the likes of Swansea, Fulham and Norwich.
The signing would also relieve the pressure on Tim Cahill, who has managed to score just one goal in 24 appearances this season, and should give Everton enough firepower to propel themselves into the top half of the table.
Jelavic completed his medical just prior to the kick-off of Everton’s home game against Manchester City late on Tuesday night, and is expected to be introduced to the fans at half-time.
(TheSportsCampus)
