Everton seal Distin move

28 August 2009 13:03
Everton have completed the signing of French centre-back Sylvain Distin from Portsmouth for an undisclosed fee. The 31-year-old arrived in Merseyside on Thursday night and put pen-to-paper on a three-year deal at Goodison Park on Friday. Toffees boss David Moyes says that he is bringing Distin in as a direct replacement for departed centre-back Jolenon Lescott, who recently made a big-money switch to Manchester City. "He'll give me a centre-half. I needed one before Joleon left and he'll give me a direct replacement for him. He's a left-footed centre-back, which I wanted," Moyes told Everton's official website. "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 be at the top end of the Premier League." Distin was brought to the Premier League in 2001 and spent a year on loan at Newcastle before moving to Manchester City. He joined Pompey in 2007, where he was a mainstay in the centre of defence but felt it was the right time to move on from Fratton Park. "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," Distin said. "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."

Source: SKY_Sports