Everton FC are priced out of Mehmet Topal deal
EVERTON are set to be priced out of their pursuit of Turkish midfielder Mehmet Topal - as it emerged the player won't push for a move from Galatasaray.
The 22-year-old has been lined up as one of David Moyes's targets and has already admitted his delight at hearing of Everton's interest.
But sources close to the player last night revealed that while he would love to play in the Premier League, he is happy at his current club and won't make a fuss if they turn down offers for him.
Topal has four-and-a-half years left on his current contract and although he has only had one substantial season with Galatasaray, he played a major part in Turkey's run to the Euro 2008 semi-finals.
His asking price would be in the region of £12million, which is beyond Everton's means as they continue to search for a defensive midfield replacement for Lee Carsley.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta has re-iterated his belief that staying with Everton won't hinder his ambition to break into the Spanish national side.
The Euro 2008 winning squad was made up mainly of home-based players due to coach Luis Aragones's preference to turn to La Liga for his selections.
Of those in the squad who ply their trade in the Premier League, only Liverpool's Fernando Torres was guaranteed a starting place in the tournament, which underlines the size of Arteta's task.
However, the 26-year-old is convinced he can convince new coach Vicente Del Bosque, who was unveiled yesterday, to scour outside his homeland and, indeed, the Premier League's Champions League contingent.
Arteta, who struggled with injuries and a loss of form last season, said: "It's still my ambition to play for Spain. I want to see if I can get in this season and hopefully get to the level I want. The scouts and coaches do watch Everton.
"Everton haven't got as many games on Spanish TV as the top four but now they're going to change that around."
Arteta also acknowledges it will be difficult for his team to maintain the standards of last season, when they finished fifth in the league, reached the Carling Cup semi-final and had their best run in Europe for 23 years.
"It's going to be a hard season because of expectations but we've got a very good team and I think we're going to get two or three more players as well," he added. "We're going to make it stronger. We know how important the league is going to be and we've got Europe as well which is great. We'll see what happens."
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