Premier League - Everton complete Distin deal

Eurosport - Fri, 28 Aug 23:33:00 2009

Everton have signed defender Sylvain Distin from Portsmouth on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

FOOTBALL 2009-2010 Premier League Portsmouth Sylvain Distin - 0

The 31-year-old Frenchman completed the move on Friday after passing a medical at the Goodison Park club's Finch Farm training ground.

Distin joins the club following the sale of Joleon Lescott to Manchester City and could make his debut against Wigan at Goodison on Sunday.

"He'll give me a centre-half," said Toffees' boss David Moyes. "I needed one before Joleon (Lescott) left and he'll give me a direct replacement for him. He's a left-footed centre-back, which I wanted.

"He's a bit older but more experienced and I look back at how well Davey Weir and Alan Stubbs did for us in their 30s, and I hope Sylvain can do the same.

"We need someone to come in and keep us steady because we want to be competing at the top end of the Premier League."

Distin joins striker Jo and midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov as summer signings at Everton and has spoken of his delight at completing his move.

He said: "You always have to think about where you're going to go, especially at my age. It's important for me to enjoy my football.

"I did think about it but not for too long. It is important to move to a club looking up not down.

"In my first season at Portsmouth we won the FA Cup and with the kind of player we were signing at the time everyone expected the club to carry on.

"But it went in the opposite direction. It was really difficult last year and this season the club is also in a tough situation. So it was not enjoyable, those things happen in football."

PA Sport

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  1. Gosling Was Bought from Plymouth Argyle actually :)

    From owenfennellrutherford, on Sun 30 Aug 5:44PM
  2. Gosling bought? I think you'll find he's an­ acadamy break through. No transfer fee was needed. As­ for starting badly, yes we have (we did last year too­ though). But surely the Lescott affair did upset the­ team? We'll certainly know in 24hours time. I­ trust Moyes and even at 31, Distin is £17million­ cheaper with the same Premiership experience as­ Lescott. How can anyone argue with that? I would like­ Taylor to join though too. But I am intrigued to see­ who these next two signings Moyes has promised, will­ be. Distin is done and so is Banega (first refusal­ option being agreed) nearly. Who's next? Moyes, I­ trust you. But please give us a hint!!

    From The Xentertainer, on Sun 30 Aug 6:48AM
  3. But We Still Need Another CB and RB??
    R.Taylor and­ S.Taylor??
    John Heitinga ??

    Gosling was bought as a­ Right back .........

    And Another Winger or Atacking­ Midfielder
    Pienarr Can Play Atackin Midfield like what­ he does for his country .........
    So The Midfield Could­ Be
    Pienarr Rodwell ­ ???????? ??????????????? Diniyar­ Bilyaletdinov But When Arteta's Back Fully­ Fit He'll be In The Starting 11 ....... Im an­ Evertonian but i have to say .... Fellaini n Cahill­ Will A Good Game an play poor for 2 ........ We cant­ Have That :/ ??????

    From owenfennellrutherford, on Sat 29 Aug 5:30PM
  4. Distin is better than Lescott, good deal!

    From Rich S, on Sat 29 Aug 10:17AM
  5. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

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    From daan.johnson, on Sat 29 Aug 4:48AM
  6. Firstly, would like to say how dissapointed I am with­ Everton`s very poor start to the new campaign, but we­ will recover and hopefully finish in the top 6!! As for­ Lescott going to Man city, let him go, no player is­ bigger than any club, anyway, got a beltin price for­ him!! On the downside is the signing of Distin, yes,­ very experianced but I feel just a little to old, but­ who know`s?? I personally would have liked to see Moyes­ sign Taylor from Newcastle (experianced and young), I­ feel jag and Taylor would be a formidable defence to­ play against and something I would like to see!! One­ thing for sure is that Moyes does leave everything last­ minute, so pull your finger out man and sign some­ quality players with the Lescott money!! I would like­ to see Bently, Defoe, Fletcher and Silva singed, But I­ will just carry on dreaming!! Seriously though, the­ previously named players, I feel, would make excellent­ additions to our squad, so come on Moyes, get the cash­ spent!!

    From kevin, on Sat 29 Aug 4:34AM
  7. he was pompey captain,city captain,gr8 centre half go­ on for years trust moyes,lescott money will be well­ spent...

    From SUZANNE B, on Sat 29 Aug 1:58AM
  8. Jez Taylor...spot-on! These adverts get on my nerves.­ We don't want free playstations! Back to­ football.....What a tough draw in the Europa League.­ Bill Kenwright,­ if you're reading this, please­ pull out all the­ stops with funds and let Moyes bring­ in another 5­ quality players. We will need them now­ we're in the toughest Europa League group. I think­ the 4 new­ signings Moyes was touting will be...Distin­ (obviously), Banega,­ Shawcross (seeing as Stoke now­ have Huth. Maybe a deal­ was done so Moyes didn't­ bid on Huth) and...I'm­ not sure. I'll say­ Steven Taylor I'd love it to be Moutinho, Veloso,­ Van­ Der Vaart or Defour. Moyes is keeping it close to­ his­ chest and I trust him. But we do need a pacey­ striker.­ Jo isn't good enough or fast enough and­ the Yak has­ never been a sprinter. We miss Andy­ Johnson (I'd­ have him back in a flash if he wanted­ to be back) but I­ think Ameobi or Beckford would be­ excellent. But what an amazing 12 months. Last year we­ were trying to sign Alan Smith!!!

    From The Xentertainer, on Sat 29 Aug 1:43AM
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    Q1; How to get a games console.Q2; How to meet someone­ of the opposite sex.
    A1; Go to the shops or try e bay.­ A2; Get to the pub with your mates(like normal)
    Now­ f**k off our site.

    From Jez, on Fri 28 Aug 11:47PM
  10. Why not give all the prem players a number and hold a­ weekly draw to see who's playing for which team the­ following week. This would end the current­ merry-go-round and save the fans millions in transfers,­ re-transfers, loans agents fees and "other­ expenses" formerly passed to the likes of judas in­ brown envelopes

    From drosesmith, on Fri 28 Aug 11:18PM
  11. "Why does Moyes leave signings to the last­ minute" - a good question. I suspect it is because­ we are not over flowing with transfer funds and Moyes­ is a typical Scotsman. He withheld tha sale of Lescott­ until he received an inflated price for him and then­ procured the people he wants to strengthen our squad. I­ would take a chance on Bentley( even if he has been­ convicted of drunk driving), Tuncay, a good right back­ and we still need another half and a midfield general.­ That is lot of new players and have we got the cash!

    From WILLIAM, on Fri 28 Aug 10:57PM
  12. is anybody else sick of reading "undisclosed­ fee" when you want to see how much a transfer was.­ filppin annoying

    From emailcathal2006, on Fri 28 Aug 9:31PM
  13. Moyes know what is best for the team. Like we always­ said:"In Moyes We Trust." However, he signs a­ few new & old faces. New like Bill (Russian) Never­ heard of him but Guus Hiddink said he is a great­ player. I believe him. Distin Old but good in defences­ Know BPL very well. So easy to adjust the pace to it.­ Hope to see Ever Banega, Steven Taylor, Heitinga &­ Luisao. If can get Bojan from Barca but it's only a­ dream. I just hope Everton will win this Sunday.­ Remember Once a Blue, Always a Blue.

    From Shaddai, on Fri 28 Aug 9:15PM
  14. I do not know why Everton fans are moaning, this looks­ a decent enough deal ! The mager has done a great job­ at Everton, they look safe every year, and are in and­ around the top 6 - 8 sides, with out blowing loads of­ cash, some good youngsters have come through with more­ to follow ! He seems to blen old Pro's and young­ players well, and he is one Manager who would not be­ out of a job for long !!

    From john.fowler18, on Fri 28 Aug 9:15PM
  15. As a city fan, i have to congratulate Everton, in that­ they sold and 8 mil player for 24mil and bought a­ really good replacement for a little over the odds, but­ a great buy anyway. You toffees should be grinning­ from ear to ear! Good luck with the season, except­ against us...........

    From tonyjoe79, on Fri 28 Aug 6:08PM
  16. 6 mil for The lad is to much his price is 3-4 mil, and­ also at 32 his price is again to dear. BUT he is a­ quality defender and i am now hoping Moyesy gets us the­ Three to Four more he as been talking about.

    From eddiehardcore1975, on Fri 28 Aug 5:59PM
  17. WHAT A JOKE OF A SIGNING 6M WHY NOT HUTH 24 LOADS OF­ YEARS LEFT IN, BUT NO WE GET A CITY REJECT AT 31 WELL­ 32 IN TWO MONTHS, COME ON WHERE DID POMPEY FINISH LAST­ YEAR ????? AND THEY R JUST ABOVE US NOW, BACK TO SQAURE­ ONE NOW BECAUSE THIS AINT BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE, WE­ NEED QUALITY AT THIS CLUB, JOE LEDLEY IS ANOTHER ONE WE­ SHOULD GET, ALONG WITH MOUTINHO OR DEFFOUR, LOVE TO SEE­ JOAQUIN OR SLIVA HERE BUT THATS ALONG WAY OFF IF WE­ SIGNING THE LIKES OF DISTIN.

    From robbrownie2004, on Fri 28 Aug 4:33PM
  18. Everton approach EVERY competition with the hunger and­ desire to win it. I would happily be only 8th ine the­ League this year but win both the Carling Cup and­ Europa League. It's trophies that count. And a note­ to Mr Moyes...Stefan Maierhofer looked brilliant.­ He'd be cup-tied for this competition but what a­ good player he looked anyway.

    From The Xentertainer, on Fri 28 Aug 4:19PM
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    From daan.johnson, on Fri 28 Aug 3:42PM
  20. If Moyes has £22mill, and saying Distin costs £4m then­ with the remaining he should go for, Steven Taylor­ (£8m), Tuncay (£8m) and take a gamble on Beckford from­ leeds for the rest.

    From resentdtox, on Fri 28 Aug 5:31AM
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