Sunday, February 1, 2009

Given completes Man City transfer

Shay Given
Given moved to St James' Park in 1997

Manchester City have secured the signature of goalkeeper Shay Given from Newcastle for an undisclosed fee.

Given has agreed a four-and-a-half year contract and returns to north-west England where his Premier League career began with Blackburn in 1994.

The 32-year-old underwent a medical on Sunday while Newcastle were playing Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby.

City boss Mark Hughes said: "I am delighted that we have been able to acquire such an accomplished keeper."

Given played 461 games for the Magpies after joining for £1.5m from Blackburn Rovers in 1997.

Hughes added: "I have said for a long time that we need the experience of a keeper like Shay. I have had a good talk with him about where we expect to be in the future.

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"From a football point of view, and a club point of view, it's an easy thing to sell because we know we are going in the right direction. Players want to be part of that."

Given was first-choice keeper at St James' Park and manager Joe Kinnear was adamant the club would have to be properly compensated for selling a player he believed to be the best in his position in the country.

It is thought Newcastle wanted a fee of about £8m for the Republic of Ireland international with City's original offer of £5m described at the time by Kinnear as "insulting".

On Tuesday, Newcastle keeper Steve Harper, who was a long-term second choice behind Given, signed a new three-year deal with the club and played in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Sunderland.

Given will replace youngster Joe Hart as City's first-choice keeper and is Hughes's fourth signing in the transfer window, following the captures of Wayne Bridge, Craig Bellamy and Nigel de Jong.

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