Nigeria international Toni Payne pens deal with Everton Women | OneFootball

Photo: Everton FC

Everton have signed Nigeria international Toni Payne, who had spent the past six years with Spanish top-flight team Sevilla.

The 29-year-old midfielder/forward helped her country to the last 16 of the 2023 World Cup, having represented the USA up to Under-23 level.

Her time at Sevilla saw her clock up 169 appearances and she previously had a spell at Ajax.

“I’m super excited to be an Everton player,” Payne told evertontv. “It’s been my dream to play in the UK and in such a strong league like the WSL.

“Now was the right moment for me to look for another challenge to push myself.”

During that World Cup campaign, Nigeria went up against the Republic of Ireland and competed against two of Payne’s new Blues teammates in Heather Payne and Courtney Brosnan.

On his first signing of the transfer window, Brian Sørensen told evertonfc.com: “I’m extremely happy to bring Toni to the club.

“She is exactly the type of player we need. I’m 100-per-cent confident Toni can fit right into our team and into this league because she has a wealth of experience from Spain but also for the Nigeria national team.

“She can play multiple positions and is an intelligent player who is really fast. A player without any injury history, too, so we are confident she will be a big success for us.”

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