Everton have completed a £2.05million deal to sign Steven Pienaar on a permanent basis, ending speculation over his future at Goodison Park.

The South African, who has been on loan from Borussia Dortmund since last July, had recently expressed a desire to stay on Merseyside, but added his concern that a long-term deal was taking too long to finalise.

This delay, however, had been blamed on the player’s representative by David Moyes, the manager, who had said: “The deal, as far as I am concerned, has been agreed. It seems the problem lies with the agent’s fee.”

All that was forgotten today as the club confirmed that Pienaar has signed a three-year deal, keeping him at Goodison Park until July 2011.

Pienaar, 26, has impressed Everton fans with his ball skills and willingness to work hard on the flanks, and he was a key figure in the club’s progress to the Carling Cup semi-finals and the last 16 of the Uefa Cup.

“Steven has done well for us,” Moyes said. “He is one of the reasons our football has improved. He is a really good football player.”

Pienaar was initially a star pupil with Ajax Cape Town, the South African feeder club of Ajax Amsterdam, before moving to Dortmund, where his career stagnated before Everton took him on loan.

Moyes must presently make a decision on another of his loan players, Manuel Fernandes, who joined the club mid-season from Valencia.

Fernandes’s form has been erratic, but the Portuguese playmaker is getting the chance to prove his value in the side at present, due largely to the injuries suffered by Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Leon Osman.

Defender Anthony Gardner, on loan from Spurs, is unlikely to have his deal extended. The former Port Vale player arrived from White Hart Lane carrying an injury and has still to figure in a first-team squad.

Everton could have a fight on their hands to keep veteran midfielder Lee Carsley at the club after this season. Derby County are interested in taking the Republic of Ireland international to Pride Park, where he would be reunited with former Everton skipper Alan Stubbs.

Everton are prepared to offer the 34-year-old another one-year contract extension. But Carsley’s family have always been based in the midlands and he may well decide to move nearer home when his current deal expires in the summer.