• Dan Gosling finalises controversial Newcastle deal
• Midfielder will miss remainder of 2010 with knee injury

Dan Gosling has completed his move to Newcastle United from Everton but will not be able to make his debut for several months because he is recovering from a serious knee injury.

The 20-year-old midfielder, who underwent anterior cruciate ligament surgery in March which was then expected to keep him out until December, signed a four-year contract on Tyneside after arriving on a free transfer which has caused considerable consternation at Goodison Park.

Everton were infuriated by Gosling’s exploitation of a legal loophole which enabled a player who cost them £2m when he joined from Plymouth Argyle in January 2008 to depart for nothing.

Chris Hughton, though, was thrilled to have recruited precisely the type of player Mike Ashley, Newcastle’s owner, is seeking – young, energetic and with real potential for future resale. “We are delighted to have signed Dan,” Newcastle’s manager said. “He’s the right age and profile so he’s an appealing capture for us. He’s young but he has Premier League experience and he’s someone who can continue to develop his game. We see him as a high-energy box-to-box player. He won’t be fazed by anything that’s in front of him.”

Gosling was equally enthusiastic. “It’s a brilliant move for me,” he said. “I can’t wait to get started. I’ve played at St James’ Park and I know all about the amazing atmosphere. It will be a great day when I finally get to run out in front of 50,000 people.”

Things have changed rapidly since early May when Gosling said of Everton: “There’s no other club I’d rather be at.” Indeed Everton feel badly let down by a player whose salary they intended to double despite his almost certainly being sidelined for most of the remainder of 2010.

Gosling had been recruited by David Moyes on a three-year deal with an agreement to extend it on improved terms this summer. Last spring Everton duly offered him a two-year extension which would have lifted his weekly wage from £8,000 to around £16,000 but Goodison Park officials failed to put this revised offer in writing by the mid-May deadline, thereby permitting the midfielder to leave on a free.

His relocation to Newcastle was agreed two weeks ago but was not finalised while Everton debated appealing to the Premier League for compensation after losing him on what they regard as a harsh technicality which enabled Gosling to negotiate a lucrative signing-on fee at St James’ Park. The move has also not gone down well at Plymouth, who would have been entitled to a percentage of any sum Everton made from a future sale.

Gosling, who can play at right-back as well as in midfield, made 22 Premier League appearances for Everton, 13 as a substitute, scoring four goals.

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• Midfielder holds talks with officials at St James’ Park
• Everton appealing against tribunal ruling on £4m-rated player

Dan Gosling appears bound for Newcastle United after holding productive talks with officials from St James’ Park but no transfer is likely to be announced until his current club, Everton, have appealed against a Premier League tribunal ruling concerning the 20-year-old midfielder.

An administrative oversight on Everton’s part – who neglected to put a verbal contract offer to Gosling in writing in May – means the Merseysiders are poised to lose a player valued at around £4m on a free transfer.

That was the verdict of a Premier League tribunal which ruled Gosling could leave Everton for nothing but the Goodison Park club are expected to lodge an appeal and, should they succeed, would be entitled to compensation.

Gosling, who will miss the first three months of the new season due to a knee injury, has attracted interest from Bolton, Sunderland and West Ham but is understood to have agreed to join Newcastle.

The versatile midfielder earned £8,000 a week last season but Everton’s failure to put their verbal offer of an improved £15,000 a week deal in writing before 30 May made Gosling an attractive commodity.

Plymouth, Gosling’s first club, are almost as dismayed as Everton having been due a sell-on fee in the event of any future transfer.

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• Midfielder exploits legal loophole as Goodison exit looms
• Newcastle, Sunderland and West Ham all interested

Dan Gosling has infuriated Everton by exploiting a legal loophole that will allow him to leave Goodison Park this summer as a free agent.

The England Under-21 international, best known for the winning goal against Liverpool in an FA Cup tie in 2009 that was infamously missed by ITV when a Tic Tac advertisement interrupted its coverage, took the club to a Premier League tribunal over a contractual dispute.

Everton had signed Gosling on a three-season contract from Plymouth Argyle in January 2008, the maximum period the then 17-year-old could commit to, with an agreement to extend the deal by a further two years and on revised terms this summer. However, as Everton did not put their offer for the two-year extension in writing before the mid-May deadline, the Premier League accepted the 20-year-old’s argument that he should be entitled to a free transfer when his contract expired on 30 June.

The decision means the Goodison club will miss out on compensation for the player and leaves Gosling free to negotiate a substantial signing-on fee with a rival club. Newcastle United, Sunderland and West Ham United are all believed to be interested in the midfielder, who made 20 appearances for Everton last season and scored in their 3-1 defeat of Manchester United.

Everton could have demanded a fee for Gosling had they submitted their latest contract offer in writing, and club officials and the manager, David Moyes, are seething at the manner of his departure. The club claim that an improved contract offer worth around £16,000 a week was verbally agreed with Gosling and his representatives before May, only for the player to stall on the deal as he sought a higher salary plus assurances from Moyes that he would receive more first-team opportunities in his preferred central midfield role. Everton had Marouane Fellaini, Mikel Arteta, Tim Cahill, Jack Rodwell and John Heitinga occupying those positions last season.

The club’s offer to Gosling remained on the table after he ruptured a cruciate ligament at Wolverhampton Wanderers in March, an injury from which he is not expected to recover until January. Indeed, the deal had still not been withdrawn while the Premier League tribunal considered Gosling’s case last week.

Moyes and Bill Kenwright, the Everton chairman, were required to give statements to the acrimonious hearing in London and are considering whether to appeal against the Premier League’s verdict.

EvertonTransfer windowAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk