Everton completes signing of Leandro Rodriguez on 4-year deal

A Uruguayan phenom is crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Everton completed the signing of Leandro Rodriguez on Friday. The 22-year-old striker, who will be arriving from River Plate Montevideo, inked a four-year deal with the Toffees through June 2019.

(Courtesy: Everton)

BBC Sport reports that the transfer fee is valued at £500,000.

Rodriguez arrives with quite a reputation back in Uruguay, having tallied 19 goals in 71 fixtures for his hometown club, and is held in high regard by manager Roberto Martinez.

"He's a young talent - one of those elite, talented youngsters who we like to bring in," Martinez said. "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."

It's possible that Rodriguez is the first of two South American players heading to Everton, as Martinez confirmed Tuesday that the club is in conversation with Argentinian defender Ramiro Funes Mori of River Plate.

"Ramiro was invited to the game at the weekend with the permission of River Plate," Martinez said. "At the moment we are just trying to see if we can conclude a deal and find a solution with our counterparts in Argentina."