Heitinga joins Fulham from Everton

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Fulham concluded their rush of deals on transfer deadline day by bringing in John Heitinga from Everton and Manchester United duo Ryan Tunnicliffe and Larnell Cole.

Dutch international Heitinga, sent off in the 2010 World Cup final, has been out of favour at Goodison Park and turned down a move to West Ham earlier this month.

The 30-year-old has played just 21 minutes of Premier League action this season, as a substitute against Norwich three weeks ago, and has signed a deal at Craven Cottage initially until the end of the current campaign.

The former Atletico Madrid centre-back, who played at Ajax alongside Fulham goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, will bolster the Whites’ defensive ranks, after they sold Phillipe Senderos to Valencia and allowed Aaron Hughes to join QPR on loan.

Heitinga said: “I think it’s a good move for myself. I’ve spoken already with Rene Meulensteen and I think it’s the right club for me.

“This is a club with a great history and I always enjoyed playing at Craven Cottage, I really like it as a stadium.

“The main thing is to keep Fulham in the league and hopefully the boys will start with a win against Southampton.”

Midfielders Tunnicliffe, 21, and Cole, 20, have signed deals until the summer of 2017, with options for a further year.

Both worked with Whites boss Rene Meulensteen when he was a coach at United.

Earlier in the day, Fulham spent around £11m on Olympiakos striker Konstantinos Mitroglou and signed Tottenham midfielder Lewis Holtby on loan until the end of the season.

 

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