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Forgotten Premier League star makes Brazil transfer eight years on from £25m Everton move

  /  autty

Yannick Bolasie has completed his move to Brazilian outfit Criciúma - ending his lengthy spell in Europe.

The winger has played for a host of teams in England and, at his peak, landed a move to Everton with the Toffees paying £25million to land his services back in 2016. Most recently Bolasie was playing for Swansea in the Championship but his new employers said on their website: "The signing long awaited by Carvoeira fans is now official."

Bolasie has played numerous times for DR Congo, representing them at the Africa Cup of Nations, following a career that begun at non-league outfit Hillingdon Borough before a rise to the Premier League. Bolasie played for the likes of Plymouth and Bristol City before a switch to Crystal Palace, where he really made his name.

The forward moved to the Eagles and, in his first year, helped them gain promotion to the Premier League. He helped Palace consolidate themselves as a top-flight outfit before he became increasingly influential with his then boss, Alan Pardew, placing a mammoth price tag on Bolasie.

"I'll sell Yannick, if someone wants to give me £40m to £60m, somewhere in there, that would be good," he said back in 2015. "I'll take it and we'll build the team around that money. Every player has a price, of course. All these players here are undervalued, in my opinion."

A year later and Bolasie would end up leaving Palace, albeit not for the money Pardew had claimed the club should demand. He remains the club's second most expensive departure ever, behind Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Bolasie spent two years at Everton, scoring just twice before he was sent out on loan to Aston Villa. He had a succession of temporary spells away, later joining Anderlecht, Sporting Lisbon and Middlesbrough before a permanent switch to Turkey.

He played for Çaykur Rizespor when they were in the Turkish top flight, but couldn't stop them being relegated. Bolasie was able to excel in the TFF First League - seeing his goal tally his double figures in a single season for the first time in his career.

This season the ex-Palace star moved to Championship outfit Swansea City but has now made a surprise move to Brazil, where he'll link up with Criciúma. They recently secured promotion to the top flight and will rub shoulders with the likes of Sao Paulo and Flamengo.