The prospect of "going places" with Manchester
City lured Shay Given away from St
James' Park, the goalkeeper said following his move to Eastlands
tonight. The 32-year-old has joined City on a 4½-year deal worth
£7m, possibly rising to £8m. He travelled to the North-west this
morning for a medical examination and the clubs confirmed that the
transfer had been completed late this evening.
"It's exciting times at Manchester City with the new owners and
this manager," Given said. "There are big plans for the club. I am
very excited to be joining and delighted that Manchester City
wanted my services. I'm happy that the two clubs could come to an
agreement."
Given's move to Eastlands was widely anticipated after he became
publicly disillusioned with Newcastle
United's lack of progress over the past few seasons. The
Republic of Ireland keeper had been at the club for more than 11
years since arriving from Blackburn Rovers. "I have two young kids,
I had just moved house in Newcastle and there were a few things
that could have made me stay there," Given said. "I have a lot of
friends there and the supporters are fantastic. They have been
great to me for so many years and I thank them for that.
"But I just felt that this was an opportunity for me to come to
a club that, in my opinion, is really going to be going places. I
am even really excited to be going to training on Monday, it's a
new chapter in my life and one I am looking forward to. The profile
of the club has changed dramatically and there are already some
fantastic players here.
"It looks like some good players will come here in the future as
well and I am sure the fans must be on the edge of their seats to
see who comes here. There is already the nucleus of a very good
team and I hope I can add to that. I am just delighted that they
have chosen me to strengthen their goalkeeping department as
well."
The Newcastle manager, Joe Kinnear, said on Friday that the
Tyneside club had given City permission to speak to Given.
Given is the fourth City signing of the January transfer
window, joining fellow recruits Wayne Bridge, Craig
Bellamy and Nigel de Jong in a move to the club. The manager, Mark
Hughes, explained: "I have said for a long time that we need the
experience of a keeper like Shay. I am delighted that we have been
able to acquire such an accomplished keeper and one so highly
regarded by everyone in the Premier
League.
"We are getting a very good keeper and the experience he has
will help the two outstanding young keepers that we have here in
Joe [Hart] and Kasper [Schmeichel]. I am looking for them all to
grow as a group and it's important that we have that influence of a
senior keeper."
Kinnear said: "I'm really sorry to see Shay go. He's been a
fantastic professional and a great lad to work with. We bent over
backwards to try and keep him at Newcastle United and offered him a
longer contract to stay at the club. He's been with Newcastle
United for a long time and has been a great servant but he felt the
time was right to move on and, so realistically, we had no choice
but to reluctantly agree to allow him to make this move. I wish him
and his family all the very best for the future."
