Premier League - Striker Beckford joins Everton

PA Sport - Mon, 31 May 12:12:00 2010

Everton manager David Moyes has strengthened his attacking options by signing Jermaine Beckford from Leeds on a four-year contract.

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Beckford, 26, scored 31 goals for the Yorkshire club last season, the last of which came on the final day against Bristol Rovers, which clinched promotion from League One.

That took his tally for Leeds to 85 in 150 appearances after he joined them from non-league Wealdstone in March 2006.

Beckford's contract at Elland Road was cancelled last week and he now steps into the Premier League after passing a medical at Everton's Finch Farm training complex.

The striker said: "I am excited by it. It's going to be a test, I know that, but I am looking forward to it.

"I want to test myself at the highest level and luckily for me, David Moyes showed an interest in me, showed some faith in me and hopefully I can repay that.

"I've been impressed a lot by him. He seems like the type of guy who will sit down and tell you where you're going wrong, what you're doing right and what you might need to work on.

"It is a club I can learn from and it can help me develop into a better player. Fingers crossed, I can be really involved in taking this club where it wants to be."

PA Sport

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  1. another lower division player signed, everton are so­ ambitious, how much they charging to watch this big­ spending club sign these superstars when jags,arteta­ and cahill goes in a couple of weeks its the relegation­ dogfight for everton.....

    From the blade, on Fri 4 Jun 2:37

  2. Leeds have lost a great talent. It will be interesting­ to see how JB fares in the premiership but he has a­ great opportunity. His average strike rate is better­ than Ian Rush's - it will be his challenge to­ maintain it. Good luck to him.

    From Treeman, on Thu 3 Jun 1:09

  3. Heard we just signed John Eustace from Watford!

    From Andrew Smith, on Wed 2 Jun 23:30

  4. Beckford is a @#$%*r on and off the pitch. Good­ riddance.. Misses too many chances & has­ convictions for robbery.
    He dosn't stand a chance­ in the Prem!
    Simon Grayson will soon fill the gap with­ a Quality striker & hopefully a team player..­
    L.U.F.C. AND PROUD!!

    From alan, on Wed 2 Jun 9:28
  5. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Beckford to shine in the premiership. Leeds to slip­ striaght down to L1 in one season.
    6 Points to the­ Millwall,Cardiff,Norwich and Swansea.

    From Thomas, on Wed 2 Jun 5:01

  6. alan, Beckford was on loan at Scunny for a few­ month.... From Leeds... Not really the making of him!

    From You Would, on Wed 2 Jun 3:35

  7. He did a great job for Leeds but he is unlikely to make­ it int he premiership unless he fixes his major­ deficiency.

    Like all prolific strikers he has an­ instinct for the goal and where to be - a bit like­ Linkaker and Chapman - they would be just at the right­ place in the goal area.

    But Beckford's first touch­ is usually poor, and so is his second..and third­ and...

    The problem seems to be that he'll get ten­ chances and miss them all and just at the point when­ you think he should be substituted he gets another­ chance and scores...and then scores again...

    He can be­ frustrating to watch but maybe this will work for him -­ either way - best of luck to the guy

    From BillS, on Wed 2 Jun 3:30

  8. moyes will make beckford a star.... the new everton­ goal machine..

    From Jason, on Wed 2 Jun 0:14

  9. Moysey has a great reputation for spotting talent from­ the lower leagues. hope this one works out as well as­ the others.

    if it wasnt for injuries we'd have­ been top four contenders last season. lets hope next­ season is a great one.

    From ron2001, on Tue 1 Jun 17:38

  10. thank u beckford great player for our club pity about­ the sulking but good luck with everton hope u do well

    From christopher, on Tue 1 Jun 17:21

  11. $43 .. L-pool have from what i know 5Mil to sign new­ good players .. so .. mueheheh .. good luck Rafa ­ :D

    Peace out.

    From Smoq, on Tue 1 Jun 14:52

  12. and im sure its a hefty one at that.

    From B, on Tue 1 Jun 10:46

  13. Saha, Yakubu, Anichebe. He's obviously gone to­ pick up a wage.

    From GullyGang, on Tue 1 Jun 10:37

  14. As a Leeds supporter i wish him well,we would still be­ in league one if it wasent for his goals..why cant he­ do well..the premiership is littered with forwards who­ were never prolific but were still playing at the­ highest level and were multi millionaires..marcus­ bent,paul dickov,fran jeffers,ameobi,carl cort,lua­ lua,Juan Pablo angel,Darius vassell,Karl-heinz­ Riedle,Henri Camara,Mikael Forssell,Danny­ Cadamarteri,Chris Armstrong..get my point.

    From B, on Tue 1 Jun 10:31

  15. best wishes to jermaine,a genuine nice guy off the­ field.he is an honest enough to player to admit he­ still has a lot of learning to do.after running through­ last season there were moments of sheer brilliance and­ others of ineptitude,but on his day jermaine can­ produce the goods.i saw about 150 games during past 3­ seasons and i've enjoyed every minute.i sincerely­ hope you set the premier league alight,but i also feel­ a striker such as rob hulse will be more beneficial to­ leeds during the coming season

    From Colin, on Tue 1 Jun 9:59

  16. #20 steve makes a great point. I'd further like to­ add that if Leeds fans think they'll be better off­ without him then thats fine. But fans always say that.­ Fact is they got him for nothing and I hope it works­ out for him. As for saying he should have stayed in the­ championship and scored goals their first. As people­ pointed out it didnt do Tommy smith or Dave Nugent much­ good and quite frankly if you're JB what are you­ supposed to do, say no to the EPL? Get real.

    From Leroy, on Tue 1 Jun 9:13

  17. Thank goodness this guy has signed for everton, ive­ seen him play live a few times and on tv alot and ive­ never seen him have a good game, as a villa fan i­ thought he was coming our way so cheers to the­ toffee's....phew..

    From Justin, on Tue 1 Jun 9:06

  18. Well he is not just a kid any more, he is 27 years old­ now so one wonders why he has not had the chance ? good­ luck though Everton, I thought we might have taken a­ punt at him ourselves ( Newcastle United fan )

    From GRAEME, on Tue 1 Jun 7:57

  19. It remains to be seen whether Beckford will be a­ success but he is a good finisher.
    It is also important­ to remember you can spend mega bucks on a player who­ turns out to be a failure or you can get a good player­ in a successful transfer for little (or no) money.
    Give­ the lad a chance.

    From rblackhurst2004, on Tue 1 Jun 7:32

  20. who made beckford can you all remember little old­ scunny

    From alan, on Tue 1 Jun 7:13
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