Gravesen in shock return to Goodison

Aug 31 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

THOMAS GRAVESEN made a dramatic return to Everton last night – with David Moyes still keen on signing another midfielder before the transfer window slams shut this evening.

Gravesen has signed on loan until the end of the season from Scottish Premier League side Celtic almost three years after leaving Goodison to play for Real Madrid.

The 31-year-old spent five years at Everton prior to his £2.5million move to the Bernabeu in January 2005.

Gravesen becomes Moyes’s fifth major signing of the summer following Phil Jagielka, Steven Pienaar, Leighton Baines and club record arrival Ayegbeni Yakubu.

And the Denmark international said: “I have always said I would never want to come back to any other club in England other than Everton – I am an Everton player.

“In my five years here we improved all the way and we ended on a high and that is what I want to achieve again.

“This is a great feeling. I have been privileged to wear this shirt before but over the last few years Everton has improved a lot.

“Some fantastic players have come into the squad now and I am definitely pleased to be here, that is for sure. It is always difficult to come back to a place but I hope it goes well. I will definitely do my part and for me, it is very important for me to prove after being given another chance in the blue shirt.”

Gravesen made 155 appearances during his first spell on Merseyside after arriving from Hamburg in the summer of 2000, scoring 12 times and becoming a cult figure among the Everton faithful.

But with his contract due to expire in the summer of 2005, he was sold to Real Madrid in the January of that year before moving on to Celtic 12 months ago. However, Gravesen has been out of favour in Glasgow for some time and was the subject of transfer speculation involving Sheffield United and Fulham this summer.

Moyes was forced to make the surprise late move for the Dane after the collapse of the £12m deal for Manuel Fernandes earlier this week.

And he is striving to bring in a big-money signing before the transfer deadline at midnight tonight, with Fenerbahce’s Ghana international Stephen Appiah still among a list of targets.

“I’m hoping to have two more players in before the deadline, possibly two midfielders,” said Moyes yesterday before the deal for Gravesen was sealed.

Meanwhile, Yakubu was officially unveiled at Bellefield yesterday following his £11.25m transfer from Middlesbrough.

Delighted to finally have his man, Moyes is backing the 24-year-old to build on a goalscoring record that has seen the Nigerian net 78 goals in 195 appearances since moving to England and Portsmouth in January 2003.

“We’ve got a relatively young player who is able to continue improving,” said the Goodison manager. “We know there are things he can do better, but I’ve found him a really nice boy in the time that he has been here.

“He’s shown in the past that he can finish and we just have to make sure we give him the opportunities to do that.

“It’s a big move for him and I feel it’s a step up for him. Hopefully he can show what he can do here.”

Although having smashed the club transfer record for the third time since January 2005, Moyes believes Everton could have a comparative bargain in Yakubu, who is likely to make his debut at Bolton Wanderers tomorrow.

“We are ambitious, but in this market and this transfer window I don’t think the money we’ve spent is awfully big,” he added. “If he continues his goalscoring record, then you have to say it’s a good price and his best years are still to come.

“I know he hasn’t scored since February, but we hope that when he gets off the mark he can go on a run. He’s a forward a bit like that who can go on his runs of scoring.

“We did not have a centre forward on our agenda but we lost Tim Cahill and James Vaughan through injury and sold James Beattie, so the whole situation changed. And to be fair to the board, they told me to go and get what I thought we needed.”