Antolin Alcaraz and Joel Robles arrive at Everton as Roberto Martinez raids former club Wigan
Arouna Koné has also moved to Goodison Park
Roberto Martinez has brought two more of his old Wigan Athletic players to Goodison Park. The Everton manager completed the signings of Antolin Alcaraz and Joel Robles, having signed striker Arouna Koné on Monday.
Alcaraz, a Paraguayan international centre-back, signed a two-year deal after weeks of negotiations with Everton. The 30-year-old was a free agent after his Wigan contract expired and there had been interest abroad, from Malaga, Benfica and Werder Bremen. But Alcaraz was particularly keen to continue working with Martinez, under whom he had been an excellent performer when fit at the DW Stadium.
Alcaraz is a ball-playing centre-back of the type Martinez will need if he brings the same 3-4-3 system to Everton which he deployed at Wigan. Alcaraz could fit perfectly in between Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka in central defence.
After the arrival of Alcaraz, Everton then confirmed the signing of Robles, the 23-year-old Spanish goalkeeper who impressed last season while on loan at Wigan from Atletico Madrid. Robles has joined for an undisclosed fee and signed a five-year deal at Goodison.
Last season Robles unseated Ali Al-Habsi as first-choice goalkeeper, featuring in the FA Cup final, and then went on to be part of Spain’s winning squad at the European Under-21 Championship, although David De Gea was first-choice.
The first player to make the short journey this summer was Arouna Kone, the Ivorian forward who signed a three-year deal after Everton met his £6million release clause.
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