Manchester City add Given to recent recruits

Manchester City FC have continued their January rebuilding with the capture of Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given on a four-and-a-half year contract from Newcastle United FC for an undisclosed fee.

Fourth signing
The 32-year-old, who has 91 caps for his country, is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and played 354 league games for the north-east club, and more than 450 overall, during his 12-year stay. The custodian is manager Mark Hughes’s fourth signing of the transfer window after securing deals for Wayne Bridge, Craig Bellamy and Nigel de Jong.

'Accomplished keeper’
"I am delighted that we have been able to acquire such an accomplished keeper,” said Hughes, whose side face FC København in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 later this month. "I have said for a long time that we need the experience of a keeper like Shay. I have had a good talk with him about where we expect to be in the future.” City currently lie tenth in the Premier League, five places above Newcastle.