The views below are taken from the local and national newspapers and do not necessarily reflect those of Everton. 

David Moyes's need to sign a new central defender has assumed an even greater urgency after Sylvain Distin joined Everton’s mounting injury list.

Everton’s boss is on the verge of agreeing a four-and-a-half year deal for Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson that could reach £2million. He will have a medical on Friday.

But Moyes’s satisfaction at completing that business was quickly tempered with the news on Distin.

The Frenchman, 34, had a scan on Thursday and could be missing for up to a fortnight after he damaged his hamstring in Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat at Tottenham.

The FA confirmed yesterday that Everton’s FA Cup fourth-round tie against Fulham will be played at Goodison on Friday January 27.

PHIL NEVILLE has six championships under his belt and last year had Gareth Bale in his pocket.

But after failing completely to stop the Tottenham juggernaut on Wednesday, Everton captain Neville has warned his former club Manchester United and their rivals City that Spurs have what it takes to win the title.

A comfortable 2-0 win over Everton lifted Spurs level on points with United and just three behind City, whom they play next week.

It was not a vintage performance – just enough to get the points – but Neville says that is the mark of a side who can top the table come May. “Tottenham are right in there, especially the way the league is measuring up,” said Neville.

“There’s a long way to go, but they couldn’t ask for anything more. And they are playing with both freedom and confidence.”

Everton restricted Spurs to a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane last season. But although he was not involved in either of Wednesday’s goals, Neville believes the presence of Emmanuel Adebayor is the difference.

“Spurs played with more confidence, more patience,” said Neville. “Adebayor gives them a tremendous presence up front. That, for me, is the biggest difference.

“His physicality means he occupies both centre-backs. Maybe that’s what they didn’t have last year. He lets the wingers stretch the team and creates space for Rafael van der Vaart, who is their key man.”

Inevitably, there will be hiccups and how Tottenham deal with those is crucial. And Neville makes his former club favourites if only because Sir Alex Ferguson knows what it takes. “The biggest test will come in March when you don’t play with that kind of confidence and freedom,” added Neville.

“Whether Spurs can grind out results then is the question they still need to answer. I don’t think they’ve got it in them to dig out results, to put 10 behind the ball and play on the counter.

“They like to exert themselves on to games, which means you always feel you’ve got a chance of scoring against them. Everything seems to be going nicely for them. They are playing nice football, some of the best in the league.

“But come March and April when everybody is going to drop points, we will see how they react. The biggest test is when you’ve been on a winning run and you draw or lose and you’ve got to bounce back.”

EVERTON are set to complete the signing of Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson in a four-and-a-half-year deal.

Manager David Moyes has been a long-time admirer of Gibson, who saw a £5million move to Sunderland collapse in August due to personal terms.

Everton are set to sign the midfielder Darron Gibson from Manchester United on Friday for £500,000.

The 24-year-old Republic of Ireland international is out of contract at the end of the season and will become David Moyes's first permanent signing for a year.

Gibson has fallen out of the reckoning at United despite their injury problems and has made two appearances this season.

He was among the players dropped, with Wayne Rooney, for a meal out on Boxing Day evening. Moyes is without injured midfield players including Jack Rodwell and Leon Osman and has not replaced Mikel Arteta since the Spaniard joined Arsenal.

The 24 year-old, fined a week’s wages by United last month after a night out with team-mates Wayne Rooney and Jonny Evans, will become Everton manager David Moyes’s second signing of the transfer window after Landon Donovan’s loan move from LA Galaxy.

It is understood that United could ultimately bank £2 million from Gibson’s sale, depending on the success of his move, but Everton’s initial payment will be as little as £1 million.

Gibson’s arrival at Goodison Park is likely to increase the possibility of Chelsea stepping up their interest in Everton’s England midfielder Jack Rodwell, valued in excess of £20 million by Moyes. Gibson, a Republic of Ireland midfielder, made his United debut as a 17 year-old in a League Cup victory over Barnet in October 2005, but has managed just one Premier League appearance this season.

A proposed move to Sunderland collapsed, however, due to the player’s failure to agree terms, while interest from Aston Villa came to an end after Gibson suffered a broken foot in training in August. On returning from injury, Gibson played only in the Carling Cup loss to Crystal Palace and the 5-0 win against Wigan on Boxing Day.

With Republic manager Giovanni Trapattoni warning the Derry-born player that his hopes of appearing at Euro 2012 would be damaged by a lack of first-team action, Gibson has now chosen to leave Old Trafford.

Moyes has been given minimal funds to add to his squad this month having admitted that the £10 million fee received from Arsenal for Mikel Arteta in August was eaten up by the club’s bankers. Gibson’s purchase is regarded as good value, however, and sees the midfielder follow Phil Neville, Tim Howard and Louis Saha from Old Trafford to Everton.
 
Moyes is hopeful of concluding Gibson’s transfer onFriday in order for the player to make his debut in tomorrow’s encounter at Aston Villa.

EVERTON FC will complete the £1m signing of Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson today – then face a race against time to register him before tomorrow’s game against Aston Villa.

The 24-year-old Republic of Ireland international is set to agree a four-year deal on Merseyside, with the fee rising to £2m based on appearances.

Gibson must be registered with the Premier League before lunch-time, in order for David Moyes to include him in his squad for the Premier League clash with the Midlanders.

The Derry-born player has struggled to win a consistent first team place at Old Trafford, and wants regular football to improve his chances of appearing for his country at this summer’s European Championships.

Gibson fell foul of Ferguson last month when he was fined after a night out on Boxing Day which saw him, Wayne Rooney and Johnny Evans accused of being unfit to train properly the following day.

But David Moyes believes he can coax the best out of Gibson on Merseyside, and feels he represents a potential bargain who should be hungry to prove himself in the top flight.

The 6ft tall attack-minded central midfielder almost joined Sunderland last summer until a disagreement on personal terms, and previously failed to sparkle on loan spells at Royal Antwerp and Wolves, but Moyes believes his best years are ahead of him.

Once Moyes has wrapped up the deal for Gibson, who has 17 Ireland caps and has scored 10 goals for United, he will switch his attention to recruiting a striker and central defender, as worries over Sylvain Distin’s hamstring make defensive reinforcements a priority.

Gibson had been around Alex Ferguson’s first team for several seasons before his breakthrough 2008/09 campaign.

He scored his first goal for the Red Devils in their the FA Cup win at Southampton in January 2009 and also played every game of their triumphant Carling Cup campaign, in which his composure and passing drew comparisons with Michael Carrick.

Those performances were rewarded with a three-year contract extension in July 2009, and Gibson responded well in 2009/10, scoring five goals in 23 appearances in all competitions, including an impressive Champions League strike against Bayern Munich.

The following campaign he made 14 starts in all competitions, and notched another Champions League goal against Schalke – making enough appearances to earn a first-ever Premier League winners’ medal.

He made his first-team debut aged 18, as a second-half substitute in United’s Carling Cup victory over Barnet in October 2005.

HOWARD KENDALL: IT never rains but it pours at Everton FC, it seems. After such a testing trip to Tottenham in midweek, now comes another very tough away game, at Aston Villa on Saturday.

As a manager, Villa Park was always my favourite ground - mainly due to the fact we won semi-finals on it. I always felt it was a lucky ground.

For David Moyes, though, luck has been in short supply of late.

Defeat to Tottenham was no great surprise. Sadly, I don’t think there was too much expectancy – among supporters at least – that Everton would go to White Hart Lane and  win.

But to lose is one  thing, to suffer yet  another cruel injury  blow is quite another.  Hopefully Sylvain  Distin’s problem is not too serious, because Everton are in a dire  position if it is.

With Phil Jagielka out until at  least March, I’m sure David Moyes will be working overtime to try and add some defensive cover. Even Tony Hibbert, who has been used in the  past as an emergency centre-half, is  injured!

The Tottenham game certainly showed the contrast between the two clubs. Harry Redknapp has been given the chance to strengthen his squad in recent years, where  David Moyes hasn’t.

And with David admitting this week that the £10m received for Mikel Arteta had  gone to the bank, that doesn’t look like it will be changing any time soon.

David was really honest, as usual. He knows the fans deserve to know the truth, and he delivered it.

He is the one, after all, who carries the can for results and performances.

Sadly, with injuries decimating an already-bare squad, it is hard to be too opimistic heading to Villa this weekend. 

FACING reporters in the aftermath of his side’s defeat at Spurs, David Moyes was quizzed about Everton FC’s developing central defensive crisis.

After losing yet another key man when Sylvain Distin limped out of the White Hart Lane defeat, the Everton FC boss was asked how his search for reinforcements was going.

“It’s OK. I am going to play the  next match quipped the former Celtic centre-back. Moyes jogs every day at Finch Farm and remains a trim 48, but while the Glaswegian was joking about pulling his boots back on, he may have to be creative as ever in the search for a solution to his current predicament.

Phil Jagielka is facing up to six weeks on the sidelines, and the Blues are nervously waiting for a verdict on the severity of Distin’s problem, leaving John Heitinga  as the only fit senior central defender at the club.

So on a limited budget – and with other areas of his side almost equally in need of strengthening – where could Moyes turn to fill the crack in his defence?

SHANE DUFFY: The 20-year-old Ireland U-21  international has certainly has the physical attributes of a Premier League centre back. At 6ft 4in he will never be easily beaten in the air, and showed strength of character to recover from a life-threatening liver injury in May 2010. However loan spells at Burnley and then Scunthorpe have been mixed, and Duffy still has plenty to do in order to prove he can become a first team regular at Everton FC. That said, Duffy coped well with being thrust back into the fold against Emmanuel Adebayor on Wednesday night and will likely get another chance to impress against Aston Villa on Saturday.

SEBASTIEN BASSONG: The powerful French defender is fed up of not playing at Spurs and has gone public on his desire for pastures new this week. A loan move to Goodison would be an ideal  outcome from Moyes' perspective, but the two clubs do business reluctantly and Tottenham’s owner is never inclined to help  his Merseyside counterpart out.

DAVID WEIR: Yes, you did read that right. After all it is the season for ageing heroes to  make victorious returns a la Thierry Henry and Paul Scholes. Granted it could be viewed as a backward  step by many, signing a 41-year-old who is in  and out of the Rangers team, but for some short-term nous to anchor the Blues’ defence  alongside the mobile John Heitinga, is the vast experience of Weir worth considering?

JAMES TOMKINS: Moyes is an admirer of  the former England U-21 starlet who has  made 83 appearances for the Hammers and is still only 22. Tomkins has been playing well in the Championship but the East London club have already turned down a £4m bid from Newcastle, and the Toffees are likely to be priced out of any auction which could develop due to their meagre transfer budget. That could change if the Blues sell a current player, but Tomkins still remains a long-shot at best.

LIAM  RIDGEWELL: The  27-year-old had a strong partnership with scouser Scott Dann despite Birmingham’s relegation last year, and initially stayed at St Andrews while  others have moved on. Since then he has  had a transfer request rejected, and Birmingham claim they have had no recent bids. As with Tomkins, the Blues would be likely to lose out if other Premier League clubs with bigger wallets stepped in.

SOL CAMPBELL: An evens favourite with Paddy Power to be the next golden-oldie footballer to sign for a club, the former England defender is followed in the betting at 9-2 by Patrick Vieira. Campbell has been semi-retired since being released by Newcastle in May, but had made seven appearances for the Magpies and remains in good shape. Could he do a job for the Blues for two months?

MAROUANE FELLAINI: The Belgian is a fine header of the ball and towers above most, but while it may have occurred to Moyes to ask Fellaini to operate out of position  for a few weeks, central defence is a specialist role and somebody who has never played there could find the learning curve too steep at this level.

EVERTON FC are expected to today tie up a deal to sign Republic of Ireland midfielder Darron Gibson from Manchester United.

Goodison officials held talks with the player and his representatives yesterday after agreeing a nominal fee with United for the 24-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season.

Gibson has been capped 17 times for his country and scored 10 goals for the Old Trafford outfit since making his debut in 2005.

However, the player has become frustrated at his lack of first-team opportunities at United having made only 37 starts with only two outings this campaign.

Gibson failed to impress during loan spells at Antwerp of Belgium and Wolverhampton Wanderers, and saw a move to Sunderland fall through last summer.

And while David Moyes has been offered only a limited budget during this month’s transfer window, the Everton manager is willing to spend what is believed to be a fee of less than £1million on the creative midfielder.

Gibson would follow a well-trodden path with current Everton squad members Phil Neville, Tim Howard and Louis Saha all having moved from Old Trafford to Goodison.

Moyes will now turn his attention to recruiting a new striker and centre-back, although he may be restricted to the loan market.

WAS Wednesday a portent of things to come with Everton FC manager David Moyes stood on the touchline at White Hart Lane?

Everton FC put up a decent fight against Tottenham Hotspur, but the hosts were ultimately too strong.

So continues the  campaign for Harry  Redknapp to be named the new England manager.
 
The courts may have something to say about that later this month. But if Redknapp does take the impossible job, he’ll need replacing.

Enter Moyes? Redknapp has that British (or Irish) can best for the best in the Premier League, with only five foreign managers in the top flight.

Moyes would be forgiven for feeling he has taken Everton as far as they can go.

He deserves better financial support than Bill Kenwright and the Goodison board can give – despite efforts to attract investment – and this summer could be make-or-break for the Scot’s long-term future at the club.