Howard Makes Everton Move Permanent

• ESPN Soccernet, Wednesday, February 14, 2007 3:34 PM

American goalkeeper Tim Howard signed a five-year contract with Everton on Wednesday. The Merseyside club is believed to have paid nearly $6 million to Manchester United for his services. The 27-year old has been on loan at Everton all season. Apparently, United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson tried to convince the big American to come back to Old Trafford at the end of the season, though Howard would probably be surplus to requirements, as the Red Devils already have Poland's Tomasz Kuszczak and Ben Foster as backup for Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van ser Sar. Howard's new deal starts at the beginning of next season. For now, he will be paid as per his current loan deal.

Said Howard: "The club share my ambition, that is for sure, the manager does and so do the fans. I was drawn to the club for a number of reasons and the players in the dressing room are one of them." The New Jersey native will likely be playing at Goodison Park during the peak years of his career, as 27 is still a relatively young age for a starting goalkeerp. Howard has 11 shutouts this season in 27 appearances. He has 16 international caps with the United States, the most recent of which was in the USA's 2-0 victory over Mexico last week.

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