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Premiership Football News: Lucas Neill

The curious case of Lucas Neill by Marc Fox

Belatedly, Lucas Neill was on Merseyside on Thursday night, ending a drawn out summer of transfer negotiations by penning a one-season deal with Everton.

Belatedly on two fronts because not only has Neill remained club-less since snubbing a virtually identical offer some four months from West Ham United, the club he was captaining when he complained a one-year extension failed to reflect his contribution to the club.

But also because Neill, the 31-year Australia captain, turned down overtures from boyhood idols Liverpool in 2007 to sign for West Ham on astronomical weekly wages for someone of his Premier League standing.

As widely reported, the Hammers brought Neill to Upton Park when, financially, times were good, but could only justify offering him half his current salary when the time came to negotiate terms last season.

After much haggling, Neill left the club as a free agent, and has even looked past serious interest from Sunderland and Athletico Madrid to remain without a club for the first month of this World Cup season before joining desperate Everton.

The whole affair has been curious, not least because Neill's management team has reiterated their client is not money-driven.

The temptation is to wonder what Neill stands to gain at Everton, the club who trounced AEK Athens on their Europa League debut with the Socceroos defender smiling in the stands, but who have fared rather less well in the Premier League so far this season.

Everton head into this weekend's fixture against Neill's former employers Blackburn Rovers in the bottom three, a position even more perilous given David Moyes' wafer-thin defensive options in the wake of Jolean Lescott's move to Manchester City.

The long-term knee injury to Everton's other England centre half Phil Jagielka prompted Moyes' transfer window double raid for Sylvain Distin and Holland's Johnny Heitinga, whose signings were thought to provide sufficient reinforcements to allow Everton to compete on European and domestic fronts.

But that was before Phil Neville's knee ligament damage last weekend in the loss to Fulham. Neville's versatility is vital to Everton with the captain able to cover both full-back positions despite mostly taking his place in midfield.

As Moyes likes to mention, Neville won most of his England caps at left-back, and has often covered at right-back for Tony Hibbert.

But with Neville not expected to return before Christmas and Mikel Arteta also on the long-term casualty list, Heitinga might be pressed into midfield action, which could leave Neill battling with Joseph Yobo for a place at the heart of Everton's defence.

This, of course, would be hugely convenient for Australia coach Pim Verbeek who plays Neill centrally for the Socceroos.

Neill said on his signing that he chose Everton in part because of the opportunity to play plenty of games.

He'll receive no assurances from Moyes, but he clearly fancies his chances of either usurping Hibbett on the right-side of Everton's four-man backline, or replacing Yobo in the middle.

One concern will be Neill's ineligibility to play in the Europa League group stage. He'll only be able to play if Everton progress to the knockout rounds past AEK, Benfica and Belarussian champions BATE.

But with Moyes facing a worrying lack of Premiership grade options after the close of the transfer window, free agent Neill's arrival became an attractive and straightforward proposition.

"Part of this job is working with what you have and making the best of it. We have done that well over the years," said Moyes.

"It is testing for all of us, but not every manager is going to get all the money he wants to buy the best players in the world with riches and the top players."

Marc Fox

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