Michael Keane

Michael Keane may be used to playing under managers who know his position, but none have mastered it quite like Ronald Koeman. The Everton boss was a big factor in luring the centre-back from Burnley – and life under the Dutchman is already proving everything he hoped it would be…

- Adam Clark

0n the day Michael Keane pulled up outside USM Finch Farm ready to sign the deal that would finally make him an Everton player, you only needed to take a look at his entourage to see what it meant to the defender.

Long linked with a move from Burnley to Goodison Park, Keane brought with him his mum, dad, brother, agent, friends and even a camera crew to capture it all.

It made for a cramped media room as he put pen-to-paper on a five-year contract to complete a transfer that could rise to a Club record-equalling £30m.

That was three-and-a-half weeks ago and the excitement the twice-capped England international feels at the switch is yet to subside.

In fact, having travelled as far as Tanzania with his new teammates, been on a training camp to Holland and played in all three pre-season fixtures since then, Keane reports life as a Blue has very much been a case of so far, so good.

“I’m really enjoying being an Everton player. It’s a massive club and it’s great to be here,” he says, having come out on top in a hotly-contested race to be the season’s first matchday programme cover star. After all, at the time of writing, his was one of seven new faces to choose from.

“It’s an exciting time for the Club and it feels brilliant,” he continues. “I spoke to Jimmy Martin, the kit man, who has been here for 28 years and he’s been through good times and bad, and he’s saying what an exciting time it is to be an Evertonian.

“When the move was being discussed I kept an eye on Everton and the signings they were making because I knew that if things worked out I’d be coming here. It was exciting. I feel like the Club is moving in the right direction and it has for a few years now.