Moyes joy as Lescott gap is filled by Heitinga
EVERTON boss David Moyes admitted he was finally happy with the depth of his squad after completing the deadline day signing of Dutch international Johnny Heitinga from Atletico Madrid.
The 25-year-old will form a new defensive partnership with fellow Toffees new boy Sylvain Distin following Joleon Lescott’s £24m move to Manchester City last week.
Heitinga put pen to paper on a five-year contract just one hour before yesterday’s 5pm deadline with Everton paying an initial £6.2m for his services, rising to £7m on appearances.
Capturing Hietinga was no easy task, however, with the Dutchman standing firm on his wage demands before then apparently opting to stay in Spain. But after agreeing a compromise with Moyes, he was flown in by private jet at around lunchtime to undergo a medical.
Moyes has been trying desperately to strengthen his squad in the wake of Lescott’s departure and is delighted to have the versatile defender on board. “We let four players go at the end of last season and they had not been replaced,” he said.
“The squad is important here, not just the first eleven. That is the way we work here. We have not had that experience on the bench, and we have probably not had it for a while.”
Toffees chief executive Robert Elstone added: “He Heitinga is a very experienced player and I know David Moyes is looking forward to getting him started.”