Everton captain Phil Neville believes the club has made a big statement in spending £11.25 million to bring Aiyegbeni Yakubu from Middlesbrough.

"It is a massive statement of intent and every Evertonian must be excited by his arrival," Neville told evertonfc.com.

"He is a top class striker, proven at the highest level and his ratio of goals in the Premier League these last few years has been up with the very best.

"I've no doubts that he will fit in superbly here and I'm sure he will give our attack an extra dimension. It is just the type of signing that we needed to make to show everyone that we mean business.

"But this signing shows that we want to take the next step. Last year, the Club paid big money for Andrew Johnson and now they have done it again. Even in this day and age, £11.25m is a massive fee.

"The squad now is in terrific shape and we are going to need more players with Europe coming up. Everything is in place for us to be successful but now we have got to go and do it out on the pitch."