Everton completes Ashley Williams signing for reported £12M fee

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Swansea City needs a new captain.

On Wednesday, Everton finally completed the signing of Ashley Williams from Swansea, as the Welsh centre-back joined the Toffees for a fee that, according to Sky Sports, is valued at £12 million.

Williams joined Swansea from Stockport County in 2008 for a £400,000 fee and is leaving the Swans at age 32 having made over 350 appearances for the club. Everton's initial bid for Williams, apparently worth £10 million, was rejected, but the improved offer was clearly enough.

"I've had eight great years at Swansea and, for me, the new challenge was something I felt I needed, so I'm delighted to have joined Everton," Williams said. "Everton is a great club with an unbelievable manager - a world legend in football - and I believe the club is going in the right direction. This is something I wanted to be a part of.

"I look forward to seeing what the manager's plans are for me and the team. He's been one of the greatest centre-halves to ever play the game, so I look forward to learning from him and seeing what he can teach me. I really can't wait to get out there at Goodison. I've always enjoying playing on the Goodison pitch, so it will be nice to be an Everton player and experience what it's all about when I'm part of the home team."

Over the last three Premier League season, Williams made 113 blocks and tallied 1,000 clearances, more than any other player in both categories. His defensive exploits were then showcased at Euro 2016, where he captained Wales to the semi-finals in fairy tale fashion and scored in the Dragons' 3-1 victory over Belgium in the quarter-finals.

At Everton, Williams will fill the void left by John Stones, who was signed by Manchester City for a reported fee of £47.5 million.