Everton's Distin holding out for two-year extension deal

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE:SYLVAIN DISTIN has told Everton he wants a two-year extension to stay at Goodison Park after the club offered the defender a one-year contract.

Distin’s deal expires at the end of this campaign and he will be entitled to sign a pre-contract agreement with a club from outside the English leagues from January 1st.

Talks on an extension for the 33-year-old, who has been a key figure in David Moyes’s team since signing from Portsmouth for €5.8 million in 2009, began in the summer but terms on the length of the deal have still to be agreed.

Everton can ill afford to lose the experienced former Newcastle United and Manchester City defender from an already slender squad, particularly with finances so tight. Distin was signed as a deadline-day replacement for the City-bound Joleon Lescott two years ago and made a seamless switch into Moyes’s defence.

He recently claimed to be “encouraged” by the contract negotiations and was prepared to commit to Everton on the basis that “this is the best I’ve felt at any club”.

Distin also said: “I want to stay here, I’m happy at Everton, and if I can do so then fine. If I feel I have to change clubs then I will do it. I’m quite honest about that – if I don’t feel good then I say so. But I do feel good about being here and if I can stay then I will.”

Distin’s defensive colleague Phil Jagielka has admitted Everton may have to drop the defensive tactics that resulted in a 2-0 defeat at Manchester City to win Saturday’s Merseyside derby.

Moyes deployed Jack Rodwell to man-mark David Silva at the Etihad Stadium last Saturday and, while that tactic proved successful for much of the game, his team-mates presented little threat to Joe Hart’s goal until the final minutes.

Jagielka said: “At home we have been doing okay. We changed things around a little bit for the City game, so hopefully we can go back to the way we have been for the Liverpool game and try to get a win.

“It’s still going to be hard against Liverpool.

“They’ve had a decent start to the season so we’re not pretending we’re up against a Liverpool that is struggling.

“They have brought in a lot of good players. As much as we say we are looking forward to the derby, we aren’t expecting to automatically win it. But we will be trying our best to get three points, whereas against City it was more us looking for a draw and maybe nicking a goal.”

Guardian Service