LARS JACOBSEN last night completed his switch to Blackburn Rovers on a two-year deal.

The 29-year-old has been weighing up his options since his contract with Everton expired at the end of the season.

Rovers’ Lancashire neighbours Burnley had also been linked with the Danish right-back, whose talks with Everton on anew deal failed to reach a satisfactory outcome.

Jacobsen arrived at Goodison on a free transfer last summer but he was hampered by a shoulder injury and it was March before he finally made his debut at Portsmouth.

He played five other games towards the end of the campaign, including a substitute appearance in the FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea.

Rovers manager Sam Allardyce has been keen to bring in a right-back following the departure of Andre Ooijer to PSV Eindhoven and the return of Danny Simpson to Manchester United at the end of his season-long loan.

Meanwhile, Everton keeper Tim Howard believes the USA’s heroics at the Confederations Cup in South Africa has sent out a warning to their rivals ahead of next summer’s World Cup finals.

The Americans led 2-0 in Sunday’s final before Brazil roared back to claim a 3-2 victory.

Howard was awarded the Golden Glove for his performances throughout the tournament.

He said: “I think our fighting spirit was very good. We were able to prove some people wrong by competing hard and getting results when we weren’t supposed to.

“We can take a lot from that.