Everton have completed the £8.6million signing of Andy Johnson from Crystal Palace. The fee is a club record, beating the previous high of £6million spent by manager David Moyes to bring James Beattie from Southampton in January 2005.
Johnson and Beattie - close friends off the pitch - will now form Everton's new strike force for next season.
The 25-year-old Johnson was given leave of absence from England's World Cup squad yesterday to have his medical with the Merseysiders, and at lunch-time today a club spokesman confirmed that had been successfully completed.
Chief executive Keith Wyness and club secretary Dave Harrison then travelled to England's team hotel, the Lowry in Manchester, for Johnson to sign a four-year contract that will make him the club's highest paid player on around £40,000 a week, more than doubling his Crystal Palace wages.
Johnson will be involved in the England squad's friendly with Hungary at Old Trafford tonight and will be unveiled to the media at Goodison Park tomorrow afternoon.
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