David Weir, the former Everton and Rangers captain, now a coach at Goodison Park, believes new signing Steven Naismith is a perfect fit for his new club and in particular Nikica Jelavic, the striker with whom he enjoyed a prolific partnership at Ibrox.
Five months after Jelavic left Rangers for Everton, Naismith has joined him on a free transfer, signing a four-year deal after he refused to have his Rangers contract transferred to the newco.
"When they played together they did very well and they can combine," said Weir. "Steven can play in a number of positions and can also contribute in different areas. He has a lot of strings to his bow and the fact he can play with Nikica is a benefit also."
"He is obviously a talented lad and has played at a great level with Rangers in Europe and Scotland and he is an attacking player capable of scoring goals.
"He is at a good stage in his career and his best years are ahead of him. I think he is a good all-round footballer. He's a fit lad and works hard, which is a necessity at Everton. He is good in the air and has a lot of good attributes.
"He will fit in no problem. There are people here who have been here a long time and they will let him know how important this club is to people and he will take that on board and get on with his job. I am sure once he gets down I'll help him out and he'll quickly learn what a nice place it is to work and what a good club it is."
David Moyes, the Everton manager, was keen to add greater strength to his forward line. "We are delighted that Steven has agreed to join us," said the Scot. "We look forward to him being fit and ready to play at the start of the season. He has a flexibility we always like in our players and which will hopefully prove to be very useful for us."
The 25-year-old forward said he was relishing the prospect of a new start in England. "It is a great honour to be joining a club of Everton's wonderful history and to have the chance to play with such a talented group of players in the world's best league in front of such a passionate group of fans," he said.
John Fleck left Rangers for Coventry City yesterday, although the forward did not follow the path of Naismith and other first teamers who left as free agents. Instead the two clubs agreed terms for the Scotland Under-21 player. Charles Green, chairman of the newco, said: "Coventry City have acted in exactly the right way to ensure that all three parties are satisfied with the deal."
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