Gareth Barry joins West Brom

Following plenty of speculation during the last week, West Bromwich Albion have completed the signing of former England midfielder Gareth Barry from Everton. Manager Tony Pulis was keen to add experience to the centre of his side after seeing Darren Fletcher leave the club this summer. 

36-year-old Barry has spent 19 seasons in the Premier League during his career, accumulating 628 appearances for Aston Villa, Manchester City and Everton. By making five appearances for his new club, Gareth Barry will overtake Ryan Giggs to become the all-time record holder. 

The central midfielder joins The Baggies for an undisclosed fee on an initial one-year deal. Manager Tony Pulis commented on his new signing, saying "He's a fantastic player, really wants to play and I'm really looking forward to working with him."

Barry, who has 53 England caps, was offered a new two-year deal by his former club Everton but felt that he would have more first team opportunities by making the move to The Hawthorns. 

Speaking about his move to the West Midlands, Barry said "I want to come and help the team. That's always been the same for me wherever I have played. I want to help the team improve, work hard and hopefully add quality."

This deal has been in the pipeline for a few days now, but Everton wanted to complete the signing of Gylfi Sigurdsson before allowing Barry to leave the club. 



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