Alex Iwobi left Arsenal to play more regularly and because he wants to feature in central areas instead of on the wing, according to reports.

Nigerian outlet The Cable claim that a member of Iwobi’s family spoke to them about the reasons why the player was willing to leave his boyhood club on deadline day. Iwobi joined Everton in a deal worth up to £40m in the final hours of the English window.

According to The Cable’s source, Iwobi left because he wants to play regular football at Everton, and he hopes to start in his preferred position in central midfield at the club.

Per stats from Transfermarkt, Iwobi made over 70% of his first-team appearances for Arsenal out wide, with the small remainder in central areas.

It’s a very different story with Nigeria, where Iwobi has played 15 of his last 16 games in the middle. It seems the player believes that’s where he plays his best football, and he expects Everton to recognise that.

Head coach Marco Silva hasn’t made that quite so clear in his press conferences so far though, suggesting Iwobi’s position is “coming from the left” as well as playing “behind the striker really well”.

We’ll only know exactly how Silva plans to utilise him when we see it on the pitch.