Manchester City have signed goalkeeper Shay Given from Newcastle on a four-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee, the club have confirmed.
The departure of the Ireland goalkeeper, one of most highly-rated in the Barclays Premier League, had been expected when Newcastle gave him permission to talk to the Eastlands club on Friday.
The news will be a blow to Joe Kinnear, the Newcastle manager, who made no secret of the fact that he was bitterly disappointed to lose Given with what appears to be a relegation battle looming.
"I've bent over backwards to keep Shay, and I have told the powers-that-be that he has got to stay," he had said. "But I understand it from Shay's point of view.
"He's done 11 years here at Newcastle, and I think he wants a new challenge. I would be heartbroken to see him go, because he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world.”
City had two bids of £3m and £5m rejected, it is likely their ultimately successful third bid was in the region of £7m.
Steve Harper, Given’s deputy for many years, played in goal against Sunderland in Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby which finished 1-1.
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