Roberto Martinez has made his first signing as manager of Everton, penning Côte d’Ivoire striker Arouna Kone to a three year deal.
Kone joins the Toffees from Wigan on a £6.5 million ($9.7m) fee where he will reunite with his former manager after signing with the Latics from Levante in the summer of 2012.
The 29 year old striker had an impressive debut season at the DW Stadium, scoring 11 goals and notching 5 assists in 37 league matches. That haul means that Kone scored or assisted on more Wigan goals than any other player for the club in a single Premier League season.
More: Is Arouna Kone the answer at Everton?
Kone, who helped Wigan lift the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Manchester City, made no secret of his desire to leave the Latics after the club was relegated in May. Reports claim that both Everton and Newcastle had triggered the release clause in the striker’s contract but that Kone opted for a move to Merseyside to reunite with Martinez.
The arrival of Kone presents an interesting situation for Everton’s striker situation.
Last season David Moyes typically deployed a 4-4-1-1 formation that saw Nikica Jelavic or Victor Anichebe lead the line. The Croatian’s struggles in front of goal resulted in the Nigerian snatching the starting role, and Anichebe took full advantage of the promotion grabbing 6 goals and 4 assists in 19 starts.
With the arrival of Robert Martinez, many suspect the Spaniard to utilize the 4-3-3 formation that he favored at Wigan. Kone lead the line in that project and will challenge to be the front-man at Everton as well. It is possible, however, that Anichebe or Jelavic could keep the starting role and that Martinez could move the Ivorian onto the left wing and drop Steven Pienaar back into the midfield three alongside Darron Gibson and Leon Osman.
Another possibility altogether is that Everton turn around and sell Jelavic, after the Croatian hinted that he could look for a new club after last season’s woes. While little has been reported on that front, many at Goodison Park expect Roberto Martinez’ next move to bring in Wigan center-back Antolin Alcaraz, who is out of contract and can join the Toffees on a free.