The Rumour Mill

Everton to offer Distin another one-year deal

10/01/2013 |

Comments (20)

Everton are set to offer Sylvain Distin another one-year contract, apparently to ward off interest from Queens Park Rangers, although the French defender is reportedly not keen on making any move away from Goodison Park.

David Moyes admitted a few weeks ago that he would be recommending to the Board that Distin be awarded a new deal based on the 35 year-old's imperious form and phenomenal physical condition.

Distin has been a solid first-choice started in Moyes's defence this season and has already admitted that he would be thrilled to finish his playing career with the Blues.

Original Source: The Guardian Rumour source ranking:
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Reader Comments

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Tony J Williams
695 Posted 10/01/2013 at 01:24:14

Good

Peter Thistle
700 Posted 10/01/2013 at 01:45:50

He deserves it. Somehow he still has pace and is mostly reliable. Good luck to him.

Anto Byrne
713 Posted 10/01/2013 at 06:33:20

If either WHU or QPR come in offering money and a two-year deal, do you think he would not consider it? Unlikely to get a similar offer a year on. Moyes, if he stays, would be looking to replace the likes of Neville, Hibbert, Distin and anyone else the wrong side of 34.

Andrew Ellams
737 Posted 10/01/2013 at 09:13:58

Anto, what makes you think Moyes will be looking to replace any of those players? I would say probably not for a couple of years yet.

Paul Ellam
738 Posted 10/01/2013 at 09:15:50

Make it so! West Ham and QPR are only going in one direction!

Ajay Gopal
753 Posted 10/01/2013 at 10:49:22

Distin is blessed with fantastic speed & power. Replay the Chelsea match and see the part when Victor Moses comes on the field as a substitute for Chelsea. Moses – fresh legs and about 15 years younger – gets into a one on one situation with the goalie and just when you think he is about to pull the trigger, 35-year-old Distin arrives on the scene with a superb burst of acceleration and kicks it clean away for a corner. Just awesome! A 1-year contract would be perfect for Everton.

James Martin
757 Posted 10/01/2013 at 11:22:54

Good to keep him but, if we want to move on, we need a better class of defender. In no way was he a like-for-like swap for Lescott, the gulf in class between the two is painful. Moyes is a transfer genius but that £26 million and who it was spent on is perhaps his biggest blot in the copybook.

Distin is too reactionary, his pace gets him out of situations where he's out of position and he can make a recovery tackle. What it doesn't get you out of is when the ball is bouncing around in the box and some poacher has already put it in the net before you can react.

There's been some terrible defending on show this season and the Jagielka and Distin partnership has always been too much "wait and see"; they both wait for danger to develop and then deal with it rather than anticipating it and being in the position to snuff it out. Moyes even classes Jagielka as a recovery defender.

Heitinga showed signs last season of being this positionally aware anticipatory defender but seems to have regressed light-years this season. Both Jagielka and Distin, despite seemingly being good in the air from general play, are for whatever reason terrible at free kicks into the box.

Considering Distin's age a new CB is needed but, until we find one, I guess a new deal is alright to keep him on the books.

Tony J Williams
766 Posted 10/01/2013 at 12:06:46

Eh?

Norman Merrill
770 Posted 10/01/2013 at 12:15:18

I think Moyes is wise to offer the 12 month contract, He knows Sylvan, and he has done enough to earn it. He looks after himself, and is as fit as anyone at the club.

Liam Reilly
779 Posted 10/01/2013 at 13:32:58

A good bit of business, but I would like to see Duffy get some more air time next season. He's not going to wait on the bench forever. If he's good enough (and he seemed to suggest he was last season), then he should be playing.

Bjørn-Ivar Pedersen
797 Posted 10/01/2013 at 14:47:12

This is great.....I am sure he has more to give us, maybe as much as two more yeasrs.....He is the kind of player, if he end his career back home in France, I think he can play beyond those 40..

Trevor Lynes
822 Posted 10/01/2013 at 17:10:47

I cannot believe that one negative comment about Distin. I reckon Distin is as good if not better than Lescott even now. Lescott would probably draw in a race against Heitinga, Distin would leave both of them still in the stalls!!

Distin is a revelation for his age and I just wish we could have had him when he was younger. He and Jags are a centre back partnership I would not swap for any other in the premiership.

I would like the stats on how many yellow cards they pick up compared to other centre backs. Both are very reliable, good in the air, tackle well, have enough pace for the position and put their bodies in the way.

Distin has had a fantastic season and deserves a new contract!!

Colin Wainwright
824 Posted 10/01/2013 at 17:18:43

Whilst he still has that kind of pace his age can only be a positive. A quick, intelligent, mature centre half. Got to be worth a years contract.

James Martin
825 Posted 10/01/2013 at 17:18:26

Trevor, the only stats that matter about a defensive partnership are how many goals they concede. We've only had 2 clean sheets this season! You really wouldn't swap them for any others in the Premier League? Kompany and Lescott, Vidic and Ferdinand? Terry and Ivanovic? I certainly would.

Playing CB isn't all about having pace, some of the best Italian centrebacks didn't have any and didn't need any. To add to this Distin doesn't have a head for the big games. It seems his mishap in the semi is forgotten a lot easier than Osman slipping over against Newcastle at Goodison this year. What about his fat touch and reckless challenge that cost us the tie against Sporting Lisbon?

Look at the Stats last year of the three partnerships Heit/Disitn, Jags/Distin and Heit/Jags, I would bet a fair bit that Jags/Distin has the worst ratio of clean sheets. In the second half of last season they barely played together much but two games stick in my mind when they did – Norwich away that we won twice only for those two to throw it away twice, and of course the infamous Anfield away derby.

I'm not going to say Distin hasn't been a good player for us because he has, and he deserves a new deal, but I don't think his partnership with Jagielka works and results prove that. If we want to get to the next level we need a different combination at the back and seeing as Distin is a lot older than Jagielka if we had to replace one it makes sense for it to be him.

Colin Wainwright
829 Posted 10/01/2013 at 17:27:01

I think the Keeper and the full backs come into the reckoning for the lack of clean sheets this season James but I understand what you mean. Unfortunately the shocking state of our finances mean that even if it was considered a priority, we haven't a hope in hell of buying a class centre half and Johnny doesn't seem interested. Unless he's going to give young Duffy a shot, Distin it is.

Christopher Kelly
834 Posted 10/01/2013 at 17:40:01

Another resigning!!!! I'm gonna light my tits on fire I'm so over the moon. Who's next? The concessions guy?? Maybe the guy who puts in the corner flags before each game?? I can't wait to see who signs next. I'm on the edge of my seat...

NEW PLAYERS PLEASE

Kieran Fitzgerald
836 Posted 10/01/2013 at 17:46:02

I think it makes sense in a way to get a player like Distin to sign a new contract when they only have six months left. If someone came in and offered Distin a precontract before he signed his new contract, they would have got him for free in the summer. We would all have been complaining about how tight our finances are and about how we let a player in demand go for free.

If we were offering a crock of a midfielder, or a non scoring striker a new contract I would be complaining right now. With a centre back, you will get away more with tying down older players like Distin to a new contract. While he isn't the Messi of centre backs, he isn't a donkey either so I'm happy enough.

Sam Hoare
844 Posted 10/01/2013 at 18:35:27

Would have thought he might be fading in his powers now but to be fair theres absolutely no sign of it. Still make the ocassional misjudgement but still a very good defender. His physical condition at 35 makes me feel slightly ashamed of myself. Impressive.

Dan San
040 Posted 11/01/2013 at 19:05:55

I'm with Ajay (753) that tackle was class and all he's about.. there have been more moments than usual this season but its mainly because we're attacking so much more.. sign him up, 35 is the new 32 nowadays

Steve Carter
126 Posted 12/01/2013 at 07:26:12

James Martin - sorry, but are you mental? Distin is a much better player than Lescott.

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