Jermaine Beckford leaves Everton for Leicester City
- Published
Former Leeds striker Beckford still has three years left on his Everton contract
Leicester City have signed Everton striker Jermaine Beckford for a fee which could rise to £4m.
The 27-year-old joined the Toffees on a four-year deal in May 2010, external and scored eight goals in 34 league appearances.
Foxes manager Sven-Goran Eriksson had an offer of about £3m rejected by Everton, external earlier this month.
"It has been pretty manic but when it's something you really want to do, you don't have to think twice about it," Beckford told BBC Radio Leicester, external.
"I'm excited to get started with the new guys, to showcase my talents and to score a few goals and aim for promotion, fingers crossed," he added.
Beckford feels 'no pressure' on Foxes move
Leicester have made signing a striker a priority after recent failed bids for Shane Long and Nicky Maynard, external, but the former Leeds man said he was not concerned with high expectations.
"There's no pressure. Weak people feel pressure," he explained.
"Everyone at Everton is amazing, but I feel for my own personal development that I need to play more games and to score a few more. Fingers crossed we'll be able to get back to the Premier League very soon.
"It's a great stadium, with a great fan base, I'm looking forward to it."
Meanwhile the Foxes have reached a mutual agreement with forward Yann Kermorgant for the cancellation of his contract with immediate effect.
Yann, 29, joined Leicester from French club Stade de Reims in August 2009 and made 25 appearances during his first season, scoring once in a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough in May 2010.
He spent the 2010-11 season on loan with Arles-Avignon in France's Ligue 1, before returning to be part of the Leicester squad that travelled on the club's pre-season tour of Sweden and Austria.