Lucas Neill

Ex-West Ham captain Lucas Neill joined Everton after rejecting a contract extension on significantly reduced terms at West Ham United in the summer before agreeing a one-year deal at Goodison.

The right-back had seen moves to Sunderland and Atletico Madrid collapse, and was clearly relieved to have signed a deal with Everton worth around £40k a week, after being on something like £90k a week after three years at Upton Park. He also joined the Hammers on a free from Blackburn in 2006.

At 31, and being seriously match-unfit without a game for three months, it seemed unlikely that he would feature in the Everton squad for some time, despite being purchased as a move to provide cover for the injured Phil Neville who was out injured until Christmas.

“It wasn’t the intention (to be out of football) but there was a lot of interest and weighing up to do but I just got that gut feeling and believed Everton was worth the wait,” said Neill.

Neill joined Millwall on a free transfer in November 1995 and spent 6 years at the club, 4 with his Aussie mate, Tim Cahill before submitting a transfer request and joining for Blackburn Rovers for an initial fee of £600k (+ £400k).

Neill's combative and committed style of play attracted criticism in 2003-04 at a time when Blackburn had been criticised routinely for their aggressive play but he was always regarded as a decent fullback and was captain of Australia's national team when he arrived at Goodison.

Although Neill made a satisfactory start at Everton and made some important contributions at right back, he was ineligible for the Europa League and was therefore missing when the Blues needed him the most. 

It was during yet another injury crisis, this time over the winter of 2009, that Neill really came to the fore in an Everton jersey. With Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin and Joseph Yobo all sidelined with injury, he struck up a very promising pairing with the increasingly excellent John Heitinga in central defence.

Distin's return to fitness coincided with a surprise bid from Turkish giants, Galatasaray, though, in January 2010 and Moyes reluctantly agreed to sell him on an "undisclosed fee", reported to be between £750k and £850k but which turned out to be £1M, and made a profit on a player who was at Goodison for just four months.

By Michael Kenrick and Lyndon Lloyd
Last updated January 2010