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Jack Rodwell joins Manchester City from Everton for £12m

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments519

Manchester City have confirmed the signing of midfielder Jack Rodwell from Everton for £12m.

The 21-year-old has signed a five-year deal and the fee could rise to £17m.

Rodwell completed a medical with the Premier League champions on Sunday before signing a deal to become Roberto Mancini's first signing of the summer.

"Man City are a massive club, the league champions, so it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's a dream come true," Rodwell told www.mcfc.co.uk.external-link

He joins up with England for Wednesday's friendly against Italy, but will be available for Manchester City's opening game of the season against newly promoted Southampton at the weekend.

"It will be an amazing experience to make my debut in front of them [Manchester City supporters] if I am selected to play next weekend," he added.

"Obviously I knew the squad is immense with talent here but I believe in my ability. I've just got to work my way into the manager's plans and hopefully things will go well.

"The hard work starts today as I start to help contribute to the club winning more silverware. The season has started really well with the Community Shield win."

Rodwell rose through Everton's youth system after joining the Premier League club at the age of seven.

He represented England at four junior levels before making his senior debut in the friendly win over Spain in November 2011, replacing Phil Jones as a 56th-minute substitute.

Three days later, Rodwell started his first full international, playing 58 minutes against Sweden before being replaced by James Milner.

"I would like to place on record my thanks to everyone at Everton. The manager David Moyes has been brilliant for me and helped make me the player that I am today," said Rodwell.

"I have a special relationship with the chairman, Bill Kenwright, who did not want me to leave."

Rodwell revealed that despite his long-standing ties to the Toffees, talks about a move to City had been going on for a while.

"It's been kept under wraps quite nicely. It's been going on for the past couple of weeks but the last couple of days it's progressed really quickly. I'm just pleased it's done," he added.

Rodwell is Manchester City's only high-profile new arrival this summer, although the club have been linked with transfers for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie and Liverpool centre-back Daniel Agger.

He will add depth to a City midfield department without England international Gareth Barry, who has a hip problem, while Nigel de Jong is stalling over a new deal.

The 27-year-old is in the final year of his contract and has attracted interest from Bayern Munich.

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519 comments

  • Comment posted by User0161060757, at 13:31 12 Aug 2012

    welcome to the bench

  • Comment posted by User0730229211, at 13:57 12 Aug 2012

    Rodwell has been hyped by the media, but any Evertonian who watches him week in, week out, will tell you that he's not all that. His distribution is poor, his positioning is lackluster, and he often goes missing. £15m (rising to £20m) is very good business for Everton.

    Oh, and to the Liverpool fan who called us a mid table club.... check last season's standings mate. Who finished above LFC?

  • Comment posted by User0741614097, at 14:01 12 Aug 2012

    I think the lad has great potential but I can't help but feel as though this will damage his career in the long run. Footballers need to decide which is more important: money or football. It seems too often they prefer the former to the latter but I wish the lad all the best

  • Comment posted by Miguel95, at 14:20 12 Aug 2012

    @21

    Exactly right, he is a media hyped player nothing more. Ive watched him everytime he has played for everton, he showed potential at the start of his career but that potential has faded into an average player who isnt even first choice in the everton team when he is fit, i hope he does well in the future but im glad to see the back of him.

  • Comment posted by djakewoods, at 16:26 12 Aug 2012

    If the reports are true (I've heard as high as £19million) then y'all done got robbed. Kenwright laughing the whole way to the bank for once!

  • Comment posted by whatwentdown, at 15:47 12 Aug 2012

    Liverpool 2006

    Who have we bought back for more? If you're talking of Pienaar, we got a great deal selling him for £3m with 4 months left on his contract, and buying a playmaker with zero risk to us in terms of settling in for £5m is an AWESOME price when some clubs pay £20m for Downing. You obviously don't have a clue how the market works.

    Who else have we bought back? Carroll £35m hahaha!

  • Comment posted by User0812990974, at 16:44 12 Aug 2012

    Why on this earth how do Man City need him he's so overated he doesn't even stand out at Everton, I don't know how the heck is even going to get games when he's got to go up against the likes of Yaya Toure etc. For me this is just another buy for Man City because they can and another few million pounds urinated up the wall!

  • Comment posted by rockandhardplace, at 18:21 12 Aug 2012

    Mancini is being disrespectful unless of course something is lost in translation. Mancini 'For the first time he is coming to a Club that plays to win', with Evertons resources they do not play to win? How the heck do Everton consistently finish high up the Premiership if not playing to win, a stupid comment and I hope he clarifies.

  • Comment posted by distefano, at 17:18 12 Aug 2012

    The future which is to come:
    Look at me medals. Won the league I did
    What position did you play grandad?
    Bench son, good we wos too. There wos me Johnson and Milner; could have been on the bench for England too we wos that good. But the boss said he wanted to see us play before he picked us, watched City 20 times or so he did; even saw me warm up once but the ref blew up before I could get on

  • Comment posted by Falah Jaizani, at 17:23 12 Aug 2012

    What a masterstroke by Everton, if the figure of 20 mill is accurate, that's the best bit of business this season. Just a shame King Kenny has left Liverpool, as the canny businessman would have paid 30 million easy.

  • Comment posted by User0809620348, at 13:25 13 Aug 2012

    To think that Moyes replaced rodwell with gibson for 500k, then offloaded rodwell for 24 times that

    GENIUS!

  • Comment posted by ant, at 13:42 12 Aug 2012

    Boring club boring fans bench warmer

  • Comment posted by User0674046930, at 14:26 12 Aug 2012

    I love this! Fair play to Everton here, great bit of business to keep the books balanced. Presumably Man city paid 5-10 million too much for him. Never a fan of Rodwell in the first place, because whenever i saw him play he looked remarkably average. Money must be a priority for the lad and not playing time - as he'll be spending much, much, much more time on the lol subs bench.

  • Comment posted by Jaap_Stams_Brow, at 13:18 12 Aug 2012

    Rodwell is a good young player but I cannot see why Man City have purchased him, its like a dejavu of Chelsea in the early years of Roman. Buying any good youngster and wasting their talents on the bench.

  • Comment posted by User0310747884, at 14:44 12 Aug 2012

    As an Evertonian I'm glad we've got rid of Jack Rodwell for the reported £15m. Hopefully this means we can keep hold of Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini. Everton can't afford a player with potential, on 60-75 grand a week. He just doesn't fit our budget and structure. Hopefully now we will get to see more of Ross Barkley, a player widely believed to possess a lot more potential than Rodwell.

  • Comment posted by Mr_KBS, at 14:15 12 Aug 2012

    if he makes even 20 appearances over the next two years i will be shocked. no idea why city are signing him in any event

  • Comment posted by User0932571136, at 14:26 12 Aug 2012

    My Boy schillo tells me this is good for everton, have kept felli, baines and jelavic and managed to sell the injury prone rodders. With Barkley and Cisco coming through DM has shown his ruthless streak. Schillo tells me that he senses DM is no longer giving chances to the ones he has doubts in, follows Yak, B'ford, Billy, Cahill, Saha & drenthe through the exit.

  • Comment posted by Sons Of Albion, at 23:20 12 Aug 2012

    Erm,right £12m quid for what is a decent prospect,no more,no less. The lad has been badly advised,he will next kick a ball outside of League Cup games when he's about 24..and then most probably playing on loan in the Championship.

  • Comment posted by Andy, at 17:56 12 Aug 2012

    The top of the Premiership is an arms race, it's as simple as that. There's no shame in the fact that Everton aren't involved in that, few clubs are. No league in the world is determined by money more than the Premiership. No league in the world starts with so few teams able to genuinely compete for the title. The word ambition should be replaced with "rich owner". Simple as that.

  • Comment posted by Ross Candyfloss, at 22:59 12 Aug 2012

    Altern_8_EFC - "Just 12m?????". You support a club (and presumably live near) one of the poorest areas of the country and you're angered by this? If you're so ashamed of our financial impotence, get on the Etihad bandwagon - it's only 40 miles down the motorway. "Kenwright out" - it's just machismo masquerading as Sky Sports endorsed passion.