Having recently been released by Crystal Palace, Everton fans may have thought they were getting a dud in Andros Townsend, however, former team-mate, Alan Hutton, has lauded the professionalism of the 30-year-old.
Townsend links up again with Rafael Benitez, as he looks to help provide the impetus to get the Toffees over the line in Europe as well as ensuring some sort of consistency to their results.
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“I’ve known Andros a long time,” Hutton told Football Insider.
“He’s meticulous in everything that he does to look after himself. He always has been that way since he was a kid.
“Even then, he could have only been about 18. He was like a 36-year-old in an 18-year-old’s body.
“Andros wouldn’t stay up past 10 o’clock, he’d have to get a certain amount of hours of sleep. He would watch what he ate, he doesn’t drink alcohol, the whole works.
“Everything is really geared towards his football career. You don’t get many people like that that are that focused and driven. I really do think that’s a good move.”
For his part, Townsend is a real worker, who’ll put in a shift at the coal face in each and every game.
What he lacks in natural skill, he more than makes up for with desire, passion and will to win.
In Benitez, he has a manager who recognises the sacrifices that Townsend makes for the whole team, and it’s therefore little wonder that the Spaniard opted to make him the first new signing of his controversial tenure.