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John Heitinga will become Everton's fourth signing of the summer after a deal was finalised to bring the Dutch international to Goodison Park.
Everton and Atletico Madrid agreed a £6m transfer fee, which could rise to £7m, for the 25-year old defender late last week whilst personal terms were tied up over the Bank Holiday weekend.
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Heitinga has signed a five year deal after passing a medical examination and brings experience of playing at the highest level to Merseyside when he arrives back at Everton after the international break.
Blues boss David Moyes told evertonfc.com he was delighted to have Heitinga on board.
"We are really pleased to have him with us," said Moyes. "He is an experienced and versatile player who can hopefully fill a number of different positions in the team. I am sure he will be an exciting signing for us."
Heitinga arrives in the Premier League as one of Holland's most experienced defenders, racking up nearly 50 caps and occasionally captaining his country. He can play at both his preferred central-defensive role and at right-back, having fulfilled both positions successfully for his country.
A graduate of Ajax's famous academy, he made his senior debut at 17 and went on to establish himself as a regular for the Amsterdam side, spending five years playing alongside Steven Pienaar before the South African left for Borussia Dortmund.
During his time in Holland, Heitinga won the Eredivisie twice and the KNVB Cup - the Dutch equivalent of the FA Cup - three times.
He was voted Holland's player of the year in 2008 and went on to join Atletico from Ajax that summer for a fee of €10m.
Unfortunately, Heitinga will be unable to play for Everton in the Blues' Europa League Group Stage games having already featured for Atletico in the Champions League play-off round earlier this season. Should Everton progress though, he could figure in the latter stages of the competition.
ned mccarthy
Great, i think we have one of the best squads in the league, hetingas a very good signing, distin solid, an the russian should be great also, once arteta, jags, yak an anichebe are back we have the strongest squad everton have had in my 19 years as a fan, the 3 strikers if on their game are fantastic as they all bring diffrent options, jo - height, strength, control, yakubu - pace, aggression, workrate, an saha is the most natural finsher in the league on his dfay, COME ON EVERTON UP AND ONWARDS
Agree with ned?
Tuesday 8th Sep 2009 10:31