Everton sign United midfielder

Liverpool - Republic of Ireland midfielder Darron Gibson has joined Everton from English Premiership rivals Manchester United, the Merseysiders said on Friday.

Gibson, 24, has moved to Goodison Park for an undisclosed fee, becoming the club's second signing of the January transfer window following Landon Donovan's return for a second spell with the Toffees on a loan from Los Angeles Galaxy.

A product of the United youth team, Gibson has scored 10 goals in 60 appearances for the English champions since breaking into the first team in the 2005/06 season.

However, he has only played twice this season and, despite United's recent midfield injury crisis, he didn't feature in last week's FA Cup win over Manchester City when manager Sir Alex Ferguson instead recalled veteran midfielder Paul Scholes from retirement.

Born in Northern Ireland, Gibson has played 17 times for the Republic and scored one goal.