Everton announce Ashley Williams signing

Reports suggest Everton paid a fee of around £12 million for the 31-year-old defender, after an earlier £10m bid was rejected by Swansea.

Speaking to Everton's official website, Williams said he had joined "a great club with an unbelievable manager - a world legend in football."

“I’ve had eight great years at Swansea and, for me, the new challenge was something I felt I needed, so I’m delighted to have joined Everton.

Williams had been linked with a move away from the Liberty Stadium for much of the summer, following a successful tournament with Wales at Euro 2016, in which Williams captained his team to reach the quarter-finals.

On his new manager Ronald Koeman, Williams added: “I look forward to seeing what the manager’s plans are for me and the team. He’s been one of the greatest centre-halves to ever play the game, so I look forward to learning from him and seeing what he can teach me.

“I really can’t wait to get out there at Goodison. I’ve always enjoyed playing on the Goodison pitch, so it will be nice to be an Everton player and experience what it’s all about when I’m part of the home team.

“What Everton fans can expect of me is an honest player, a hard-working player who will try to do as good as I can for my teammates and the Club. I’m not always perfect but I always have the right intentions and I try to leave it all out there on the pitch.

It comes a day after defender John Stones' £47.5m million move from Everton to Manchester City was confirmed when UEFA released a Champions League squad list for City that inadvertently revealed the transfer.

Williams is the third signing of new manager Koeman, who replaced Roberto Martinez as Everton manager in June, after Idrissa Gueye and Maarten Stekelenburg.

On the signing, Koeman said: "We wanted to bring in a strong player in the central defence position, a player who knows the Premier League and Ashley fits the bill for us very well.

"He is an experienced defender and the kind of player we need in the team. He is a leader. He showed this at Swansea and he has shown it for his country and he is looking forward to his new challenge here at Everton.”