July 2 2005

Darren Powell

Out-of-contract defender Darren Powell has signed for Southampton.

Powell became surplus to requirements after the arrival of Darren Ward from Millwall and his contract was not renewed.

Reading were also after Powell, but the big centre-half opted on a move to Southampton in a free transfer.

He began his career at Hampton and Richmond before moving onto Brentford in 1998. Trevor Francis took him to Palace in August 2002 and he made 71 appearances, scoring four goals.

The most memorable one was the last-minute equaliser against Sunderland in the 2004 play-off semi-finals to force extra-time which Palace eventually won.

Powell struggled with injuries for much of the last two campaigns and only made 10 appearances plus five on loan at West Ham last season.