Vaughan can be our new Gray – Moyes

Jul 21 2007 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

AFTER provisionally adding Steven Pienaar to his squad, Everton manager David Moyes has urged James Vaughan to keep trying to emulate Andy Gray’s physical style despite his latest injury setback.

Pienaar, 25, has agreed a 12-month loan month with Everton, subject to being given a work permit.

According to reports in Germany, Everton, who hope to hear whether Pienaar has been cleared to play in England early next week, have agreed to pay the Bundesliga club 500,000 euros (approximately £300,000) for the South African’s services next season with an agreement for a permanent transfer for an undisclosed fee if his spell in the Premier League is successful.

Pienaar would provide a welcome addition to Moyes’s squad after Vaughan dislocated his shoulder on Wednesday and now faces an operation which could keep him out for four months.

And the Everton manager has expressed his sympathy for the 19-year-old, whose short career has already been blighted by a series of injury setbacks.

“It’s absolutely heartbreaking, but for him more than anybody, said Moyes following Everton’s first training session in Salt Lake City last night. “It’s a big blow to us but a bigger blow to the boy. The challenge that injured him was innocuous but we talk about him being like Andy Gray in a lot of ways.

“If he changes his style he wouldn’t be the same player so we don’t want him to change his style.

“We want him to stay very committed so from that point of view that’s what is in him and sometimes with that type of player injuries do come along.

“But we are disappointed because he is a young boy who has made big strides.”

Vaughan scored three times in his last five appearances in the league towards the end of the campaign, which he finished as part of England’s European Under-21 Championship squad.

His form continued when he scored Everton’s first goal of the pre-season friendly programme against a Northern Ireland XI on Saturday and Moyes was hoping to keep the momentum going in America before his freak injury at Preston the day before the squad flew out.

“He looked as if he had really started well in his pre-season games so we decided not to give him any break because he had missed 12 to 14 months,” said Moyes.

“So we brought him back, we got him in good shape and we wanted him to start the season well.

“We may have needed to rest him a little bit into the season, that was the plan, but unfortunately we’re now going to miss him for the opening three or four months.

“I can’t dwell too much on injuries because I have to be focused on the ones who can play but we can’t hide how disappointed we are for James.

“He’s a boy who will miss this part of pre-season, not being away with the team – but this won’t be so long. Once he gets the operation set he will be able to keep running but I’m disappointed as we could have had him here.”

Everton’s only game of the American tour is against Real Salt Lake at the Rice-Eccles Stadium tonight (kick-off 3am BST) after which they will fly out to their Los Angeles training camp for the remainder of the tour.