IN-DEPTH NEWS

Pienaar determined to earn permanent move

By Lyndon Lloyd : 10 Oct 2007

Steven Pienaar: "I want to... make my move permanent"
Steven Pienaar has spoken of his desire to earn a permanent move to Goodison Park after being handed the chance to re-establish himself at the top level with a loan move from Borussia Dortmund.

Honed by the legendary academy at Ajax, the South African midfielder was signed by Dortmund as a replacement for Thomas Rosizcky after the Czech star left for Arsenal last year. Pienaar was unfortunately, though not surprisingly, unable to meet those weighty expectations and found his first-team chances more limited as last season progressed.

Spotting an opportunity to revive the player's fortunes with a season-long loan, David Moyes made his move this summer and acquired the midfielder with a view to signing him permanently in 2008.

And while the diminutive SA international hasn't made the kind of dramatic impression that Mikel Arteta did 2½ years ago — although he is certainly proving with every game to be an astute signing — there are many parallels in their situations.

Now, Pienaar wants to prove that he is worthy of that permanent contract and is committed to earning the right to stay at Goodison long-term. "I want to establish myself in the Premier League and to make my move permanent," he told British tabloid, theDaily Star.

"At the moment I'm just here on loan, but it's not in my mind that I'm here on loan.

"I'm here to play football and fight for my place and it's up to me to make it permanent by showing I deserve to be here."

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