New Tottenham Hotspur signing Moussa Sissoko has insisted he "never went to Everton," despite reports he turned his back on a move to Goodison Park on deadline day.
Sissoko, 27, signed a five-year deal at White Hart Lane on Wednesday moving for around £30 million from Newcastle United, after being linked with a move away from the relegated club all summer.
Sissoko, however, told L'Equipe he was amazed to read that he had supposedly agreed to join Ronald Koeman's Everton given that he did not leave London while the agreement with Spurs was being thrashed out.
"I never went to Everton," Sissoko insisted after featuring in France's 3-1 win over Italy on Thursday. "It's funny. I was watching TV, and I saw that a deal had been done with Everton and that I had signed for them. But I was in London, waiting to sign my contract [with Spurs].
"The main thing is that I signed for the club I wanted to join. Of course I would have liked it to have happened earlier, but now it's done. I hope to have a good season and I'm happy to be able to play in the Champions League. I have played at a World Cup and a Euro. I was only missing playing for the cup with the big ears [Champions League]."
After some eye-catching displays for his country en route to the Euro 2016 final, where France lost to Portugal after extra time, Sissoko looked destined to be playing Championship football with clubs unwilling to meet Newcastle's asking price.
"It's been the longest month of my career," he added. "It's true that Wednesday was rather stressful, t was completed in the final hours. But the main thing is that it's done, that my transfer to Tottenham went through.
"I have the opportunity to make another step up. I hope it will go well for me. In any case, I'm very happy and relieved. There were a lot of emotions."
Meanwhile, Tottenham and France captain Hugo Lloris, who missed the win over Italy with a hamstring strain, believes Sissoko will add options and experience to Mauricio Pochettino's squad.
"He is very powerful and I think he is a different profile of player for us, so he will give us another option offensively," Lloris told the club's official website.
"The good thing is that he's played in the Premier League for a while so he knows the competition well and he's a high-level player because he's played for the national team too.
"It's true that our squad is very young and the young players need more experienced players around them. This is my responsibility too. We need to show everyone the right way, the correct way and try to bring everyone in the same direction but it's quite easy because the spirit is great.
"Away from the pitch he's a very quiet guy but he is funny too. When he feels fully adapted you will see his real personality. At the moment he is maybe a bit shy but that's normal because it's new for him."
On Sissoko's displays at Euro 2016, Lloris added: "Especially in the last two games against Germany and Portugal, I think he was one of our best players.
"Moussa's spirit is fantastic because he didn't start at the beginning of the tournament but he finished the competition as a starter. He is very committed, he is always ready to help the team and that's why he's an international player."