‘My first memories’ - Beto names two ex-Everton forwards that inspired his move

Beto has revealed that there were two ex-Everton strikers which inspired him as a younger player.

The former Udinese striker arrived in a deal worth around £25m this summer and he hit the ground running as he scored on his debut against Doncaster in the EFL Cup.

Fans spotted during his announcement video that he was sporting an old Everton jersey, and it’s clear from the past decade that he has been a follower of the Toffees.

“My friends bought that shirt for me,” he reveals. “I was watching Everton games all of the time and I was always speaking to them about Lukaku, Lukaku, Lukaku!” He said when speaking to EvertonTV.

“On my birthday, my friends put in to buy me a shirt with his name and number on the back. I was at Portimonense at the time but I wore it a lot. A lot… As you could see, some of the letters were even peeling off!”

In terms of his striking heroes, the 25-year-old cited both Samuel Eto’o and Lukaku as inspirations - and both lit a fire within the forward to one day play in front of the Goodison home fans.

“My first memories of Everton are watching the Merseyside derbies. My all-time hero is Samuel Eto’o so I followed him at Chelsea and I loved Romelu Lukaku so that led me to Everton. I would watch the derbies and say, ‘Everton can’t lose this!’, but I watched a lot of games and still remember them now.

“The 4-0 win against Manchester City stands out and the 6-2 against Bournemouth when Lukaku scored four goals.

“For me, it is a dream to have the chance to play at Goodison.”

Beto struggled against Arsenal at the weekend, as he was limited to just 18 touches, which was a massive drop-off from the 47 he managed against Sheffield United in his previous outing.

Last season saw him net 10 goals and provide two assists in 33 Serie A games as his side finished 12th in Italy.

His goal now is to focus on helping Sean Dyche’s side move away from what looks like another relegation battle - and it’s Everton’s goal to play to his strengths to ensure they give themselves the best possible chance of having any sort of success this season.