• Premier League

Everton new boy Eto'o over Mourinho spat

Roberto Martinez poses with new signing Samuel Eto'o © Getty Images

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Samuel Eto'o has indicated he is willing to bury the hatchet with his former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho after joining Everton.

Eto'o signed a two-year deal at Goodison Park on Tuesday, having been released by Chelsea at the end of last season.

Mourinho was the striker's manager at Inter Milan when they won the Champions League in 2010, and brought him to Stamford Bridge on a free transfer from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala last summer.

However, the Chelsea boss angered Eto'o when he appeared to question his age as he was being secretly filmed by French TV channel Canal Plus, saying: "I have Eto'o but he is 32 years old, maybe 35, who knows?"

Samuel Eto'o appeared to take aim at Jose Mourinho with this goal celebration in March © PA Photos

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Eto'o, who turned 33 in March, is said to have responded by calling Mourinho a "fool" and a "puppet", and celebrated a goal against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge soon after by posing as an old man in an apparent dig at his manager.

Now, after being unveiled at Everton's training ground, Eto'o has claimed he wants to put their fall-out behind them. He said: "The only thing I have to say regarding Jose Mourinho is to thank him.

"It's down to Jose Mourinho that I had the opportunity to be accepted into the Premier League and play some great matches. I thank him for that."

Eto'o, who scored nine goals in 21 league appearances for Chelsea last season, could make his Everton debut against his former side in the Premier League on Saturday, but says the idea of taking revenge against Mourinho is not on his mind.

"I'm not too concerned about the fact that it's against my ex-team," Eto'o added. "The important thing is to integrate with my new team-mates and get myself ready during training to make sure I'm ready for the match if called on.

"Even if I don't feature, it's important for me to get into the head of the team as I train and prepare for each match."

Eto'o could be thrown straight in against Chelsea because club-record buy Romelu Lukaku is battling to recover from a toe injury that has troubled him during the opening two weeks of the season.

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