Neal Maupay has completed a move to Everton from Brighton & Hove Albion for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract until the end of June 2025 with an option of a further year.
The 26-year-old forward becomes the Club’s sixth summer addition, following the arrivals of James Tarkowski, Rúben Vinagre, Dwight McNeil, Conor Coady and Amadou Onana.
Maupay has spent the past three seasons at Brighton, where he scored 26 goals in 84 Premier League starts.
The Frenchman is ineligible to make his Everton debut at Brentford on Saturday but set out his hunger to swiftly deliver for the Club and Evertonians.
“Everton is a great club with unbelievable fans and I am so, so happy to be here,” Maupay told evertontv.
“It feels amazing. It was an easy choice for me when I started to talk with the Club. I knew straight away I wanted to play for Everton and help the Club to succeed.
“I’m excited and it’s a new challenge for me.
“I will do everything I can for Everton. That’s what the fans want – they want players that are ready to give their best, and ready to fight
“When I step on the pitch, I will run, I will tackle, I will try to make assists and score goals. Whatever the team needs, I will do it, because I want to be successful and I want my team to win.”
Maupay began his career at Nice in his homeland and made his professional debut aged just 16 years and 32 days, making him the third-youngest player in French top-flight history.
He soon netted his first goal for Nice – becoming the second-youngest scorer ever in Ligue 1 – and made more than 50 appearances for the team before moving to St Etienne.
A productive loan spell at Brest captured the attention of then-Championship side Brentford, and he made the move to the London club in 2017.
Maupay quickly established himself as one of the division’s leading strikers and scored 41 goals in 95 Brentford appearances before signing for Premier League Brighton in 2019.
The attacker, who has been capped by France up to Under-21 level, says he is now intent on playing a key role in driving Everton forward.
“Everyone here is working on the same path and trying to take the Club back where it belongs,” he said.
“We have very good quality in the squad here and I just can’t wait to get started.
“I will give everything day in and day out – in training and in games – to make sure we can have success.”
Everton Director of Football Kevin Thelwell added: “Neal is a player who has proven himself in the Premier League over the past three seasons and he is hungry to hit the ground running with Everton.
“We believe he will add an extra dimension to our attack and complements the existing players we have at the top end of the pitch."
Everton manager Frank Lampard, meanwhile, highlighted Maupay’s blend of dynamic attributes and his tireless work-ethic.
“We're delighted to bring Neal to Everton, a player of proven quality in the Premier League,” he said.
“We wanted to strengthen our attacking options and Neal provides a goalscoring threat, as well as bags of energy and a fighting spirit that are vital to what we're building at the Club.”
