According to the local rag, Sylvain Distin is expected to sign on the dotted line and extend his stay at current club. However this good news for Everton fans could leave Newcastle fans up in arms, and I will tell you why.
Distin, with only 6 months left on his contract, was rumoured to be on the move and joining the ranks of Sam Allardyce and his men which would have led the way for James Tomkins to make an exit from the club, something which he is said to be desperate to do.
The 23-year-old finds himself out of the starting XI on a regular basis because of the preferred pairing of Winston Reid and James Collins, despite being the heartbeat of the Hammers defence during their revival from the Championship.
Alan Pardew is a long-term admirer of the defender and is looking to sure up his leaky backline in attempt to steer the club away from danger -who would have thought we would be saying that 12-months ago, eh? – but all eyes are on whether or not Distin agrees a new deal with the Toffees as West Ham are unwilling to let Tomkins go without a replacement.
This domino effect highlights one of the main problems of the January transfer window. It is often a merry-go-round at this stage of the season because of the risk of losing a player without being able to replace him before the window slams shut.
Distin, who is 35-years-old and nearing the end of his career, appears to be happy at Goodison and unlikely to make the move south to the capital, leaving Tomkins and Alan Pardew very frustrated.