Leandro Rodriguez Signs

Everton have completed the signing of Leandro Rodriguez on a four-year deal to June 2019.

The 22-year-old Uruguayan striker has arrived at Goodison from River Plate Montevideo for an undisclosed fee.

Martinez: “He’s a young talent – one of those elite, talented youngsters who we like to bring in. Mason Holgate is a clear example of a really strong, young English defender and Leandro Rodriguez is a young striker with a real knack of scoring goals.

“But he’s much more than that, too. His contribution is a lot more than that and hopefully we can provide a path where he can develop and enjoy his football. If he can do that, clearly that’s going to bring goals to the first team.

“He probably won’t [need time with the Under-21s] because he has played enough games with his first team in Uruguay in a really competitive league.

“If you look at the amount of strikers that come through those environments, you don’t get surprised about the quality of these players.

“I am not saying that to put pressure on the boy, but he is a player we can be very much excited about in the future.”