• 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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• Striker still struggling with achilles injury from November 2008
• Nigerian scored in 2-2 home draw with West Ham United

David Moyes has assured Yakubu Ayegbeni he has a long-term future at Everton despite conceding that the Nigeria striker has not fully recovered from an achilles injury suffered 17 months ago.

It has been suggested that Yakubu will be sold this summer to improve Moyes’ transfer budget having struggled to reclaim form and a first-team place since rupturing an achilles tendon at Tottenham Hotspur in November 2008. However, in an assessment that will resonate alarmingly with David Beckham, currently sidelined with a similar problem, the Everton manager believes the recovery period is typical of achilles injuries and says Yakubu remains part of his plans at Goodison Park.

“Yes, he has a future here, he has a contract,” said Moyes, who deployed his £11.25m signing as a substitute against West Ham United on Sunday and was repaid with what almost proved a match-winning goal. “He has had a difficult year with his achilles. It has been tough for him. To have a ruptured achilles tendon like David Beckham has is a really bad injury, it really is, and to get back is hard.

“Yak has worked hard to get back into condition and we want to give him every opportunity to get back to where he was. I think he is physically there, but it might be a long-term healing process that he has to go through before we can say he is really over the injury. I still see him some mornings when he looks as if he thinks it is a problem but once he gets going he is fine.”

Yakubu’s 85th‑minute header, cancelled out by Ilan’s diving header for West Ham moments later, was the forward’s fifth goal this season but his third in his last six appearances for Everton. Moyes’ stance on the 27-year-old could alter should Everton receive an official bid for the player this summer but the manager added: “I hope he has the appetite to get back to what he was. He trains well but what Yak thrives on is goals. When he gets his goals it brings him alive and his record in the Premier League is very good. It has just tailed off in the last 18 months because of the injury.”

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Everton’s other goalscorer against West Ham, has said he has no regrets over his £9m transfer from Lokomotiv Moscow last August despite an inconsistent debut season in England. The Russia international has not had a break from football for almost 18 months due to the timing of his move from Moscow and has shown only fleeting glimpses of his undoubted talent at Everton.

However, after his sixth goal of the season on Sunday, Bilyaletdinov said: “For me it has been one of the best seasons of my life. I have scored more goals than before. I have had a long season now, one-and-a-half, and for me it is very impressive. I have enjoyed every minute on the pitch with this club.”

EvertonDavid MoyesPremier LeagueAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk