Results tagged “Transfers” from Everton Banter - Join the debate with EFC fans, staff writers and club legends

LOUIS SAHA was today set to become Everton's fourth summer signing and end David Moyes' search for a new striker.

The Blues have negotiated a deal with Manchester United that will see Saha follow in the footsteps of Phil Neville and Tim Howard and make the journey from Old Trafford to Goodison Park.

The France international, who was wanted by Sunderland, West Ham United and Valencia, will sign a contract that will keep him on Merseyside for three years and he will fill the gap vacated by Andrew Johnson's move to Fulham.

Moyes has been keen to add firepower to his squad all summer and pursued a number of targets, including Real Zaragoza's Diego Milito and Darren Bent of Tottenham Hotspur, but had hitherto been frustrated.

EVERTON are hoping to push through international clearance for new signing Segundo Castillo to make his debut against Portsmouth on Saturday.

But they will have to wait for Victor Obinna to join him after the Nigerian winger's work permit application was refused.

Everton will appeal against this decision in the hope that his one-year loan move from Inter Milan can be completed before the transfer window shuts on Monday.

But Ecuadorian midfielder Castillo has completed his initial one-year loan from Red Star Belgrade after passing a medical at Finch Farm yesterday and receiving his work permit from the Home Office

If he does get the green light to face Pompey he will join Lars Jacobsen as the second new face in David Moyes's squad, the Danish right-back having received his international clearance yesterday.

EVERTON'S hectic week in the transfer market continued today as they closed in on a deal for Nigerian winger Victor Obinna.

Having signed Denmark international Lars Jacobsen on Monday, the Blues brought in Ecuadorian midfielder Segundo Castillo on a one-year loan from Red Star Belgrade last night.

He was due to undergo a medical at Finch Farm this morning after Everton lodged an application with the Home Office to obtain a work permit for Castillo.

Castillo is expected to be joined by the pacy Obinna, who will also join Everton on loan after they reached a deal with Inter Milan.

Obinna - who, along with new team-mate Victor Anichebe, was a member of the Nigeria squad which took silver at the Olympics - only signed for the Nerazurri on Monday but the Italians took the decision to loan him out immediately.

EVERTON face a desperate battle to land their number one transfer target, Stephane Mbia, before next Monday's transfer deadline.

The player spoke to the Blues again last night and confirmed his eagerness to move to Goodison.

But Rennes are digging their heels in and refuse to budge.

The French club do not want to lose the Cameroon international and general manager Pierre Dreossi said: "We remain determined to retain Stephane Mbia. I repeat this decision is firm and final."

Blues chairman Bill Kenwright, however, will not take 'no' for an answer and is continuing to push the Championnat side.

EVERTON will discover in the next few days whether they have been successful in luring Shaun Wright-Phillips to Goodison.

The winger is expected to leave Chelsea before the transfer window closes on Monday after accepting he is not part of Luiz Felipe Scolari's long-term plans at Stamford Bridge.

And Wright-Phillips is facing a straight choice between either Everton or former club Manchester City.

Goodison officials have been in contact with Chelsea over the possibility of taking Wright-Phillips on a year-long loan with a view to a permanent move, while City have made an offer believed to be in the region of £9m for the 26-year-old.

Wright-Phillips is expected to make a decision by the end of the week having conceded he must find a new club to improve his chances of first-team football, with his opportunities at Chelsea set to be lessened further by the arrival of Real Madrid's Robinho.

EVERTON are ready to go head-to-head with Manchester City to win the battle for Shaun Wright-Phillips.

The England international is surplus to requirements at Chelsea and will move on before the transfer window closes with his destination set to be either Goodison Park or Eastlands.

Blues officials have been in contact with Chelsea over the possibility of taking Wright-Phillips on loan, while City have made a firm offer for their former winger.

Wright-Phillips has reluctantly accepted that he is not in Luiz Felipe Scolari's plans and Chelsea have indicated they will leave the final decision where he moves to down to the 26-year-old.

The move for Wright-Phillips comes swiftly after Everton made Lars Jacobsen their first summer signing and it is likely to be the start of a hectic week of transfer activity at Goodison.

EVERTON are hopeful of sealing the loan signing of CSKA Moscow striker Vagner Love in the next 48 hours.

And the Goodison Park outfit are continuing negotiations to bring Rennes midfielder Stephane M'bia and Newcastle United's Alan Smith to the club by the end of the week.

Brazil international Love is due on Merseyside for talks over a season-long stay with a view to a permanent move.

IT'S been a Dad's Army kind of summer at Everton. We've had the white haired fella shouting 'Don't Panic, Don't panic,' the grim faced foot soldiers moaning 'We're doomed,' while the man leading the troops has been chasing a crestfallen James Vaughan to cry "You stupid boy."

The big difference, however, is no-one's laughing.

Now I'm definitely a glass half-full kind of guy. I was chastised last summer for refusing to panic when Phil Jagielka was the only new signing by July 19.

The next day Steven Pienaar arrived, swiftly followed by Leighton Baines, Stefan Wessels, Yakubu and Tommy Gravesen.

But now I'm definitely nervous.

Transfer rumours are elusive things. Just where do they come from? We're all familiar with 'paper talk', which is a nice way of saying 'this story is entirely made up', but where do journalists get the inspiration to conjure up the players which football clubs are 'tracking', 'looking closely at', 'monitoring', 'watching through the bushes' or engaging in any such behaviour which would get regular Joes like me and you put on the sex offenders register?

Apart from the usual suspects like the tea lady's cousin's brother's hairdresser's best mate's bank manager's cleaner's son's bus driver assuring us that Ronaldinho IS DEFINITELY ON HIS WAY TO GOODISON, we would like to believe that transfer rumours are the result of consulting with a South American shaman or mischievous football fairies whispering into the ears of sleeping writers.

DAVID MOYES today promised to intensify his recruitment drive - even though he accepts any new signings will not be familiar with the 'Everton Way' by August 16.

Everton have not yet moved in the transfer market this summer, but Moyes, whose side beat Colorado Rapids 2-1 in the early hours of this morning, is ready to adopt an aggressive approach to beef up a squad that has been stretched.

The manager has a number of irons in the fire - notably Sporting Lisbon's Joao Moutinho - and is hopeful that his leads will come to fruition in time for the opening Premier League fixture against Blackburn Rovers.

ANDREW JOHNSON is today expected to complete a transfer to Fulham that could earn Everton up to £13million.

Johnson underwent a medical yesterday and discussed personal terms at Craven Cottage after the Londoners agreed a deal for the striker.

The 27-year-old is poised to become the most expensive player in Fulham's history by moving for a fee that could eventually rise to £13m given add-ons and incentives.

Wigan Athletic and Sunderland were early front-runners for the England international, but neither were able to match Fulham's offer.

EVERTON have edged nearer the club record transfer of Joao Moutinho after the Portugal midfielder expressed his desire for a move to Goodison.

But Sporting Lisbon have warned Everton they must increase their bid if they are to prise the 21-year-old playmaker away from the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

The Portuguese club yesterday claimed to have rejected an offer of £11.8million from the Goodison outfit for Moutinho, a figure that could rise if he helped David Moyes's side qualify for the Champions League. Sporting are adamant they will only allow the player to leave for around £20m, and also had issue with the terms of Everton's request to spread the fee in instalments.

YAKUBU is confident he can improve on his goal-laden debut season for Everton.

The Nigeria international netted 21 times following his club record £11.25million arrival from Middlesbrough.

It made Yakubu the first Everton player to reach the 20-goal landmark since Peter Beardsley in 1992, with only Tony Cottee, Graeme Sharp and Gary Lineker having bettered his total in the last 30 seasons.

And with Everton looking to improve on their achievements of the previous 12 months, Yakubu is convinced he can be even more prolific during the coming campaign.

EVERTON are prepared to drag out the Andrew Johnson transfer saga despite Fulham closing in on a deal for the striker.

The Cottagers are understood to have had a £10.5million offer accepted for Johnson.

Fresh doubts were raised over the player's future at Everton when he was not even included on the substitutes' bench for Tuesday night's 1-0 friendly victory over Preston North End at Deepdale.

JOAO MOUTINHO has emerged as a major target for Everton as David Moyes prepares to begin his recruitment drive.

The Goodison Park manager is a known admirer of the Portugal international midfielder, who plays his club football with Sporting Lisbon in his home country.

Moutinho caught the eye during the recent Euro 2008 finals, helping Portugal reach the quarter-finals before their elimination to Germany.

Although Sporting are quoting a prohibitive £20million for the 21-year-old playmaker, Everton are confident they can lower that asking price.

WIGAN ATHLETIC will have to find at least £10million to tempt Everton into parting with Andrew Johnson.

Although no official bid has been made, it has emerged the Latics contacted Goodison officials last week with a verbal offer of £9m for the striker.

That falls short of Everton's valuation of Johnson, who would be receptive towards a move to the JJB Stadium ahead of expected offers from Sunderland and West Ham United.

EVERTON and Chelsea, who meet tonight at Goodison Park, seem to be watching their respective seasons tail off in parallel.

At the beginning of the month this bizarrely scheduled encounter looked like it could be key in determining both the title and the last Champions League spot.

As it is though, the men from Stamford Bridge blew their chance of catching Manchester United on Monday night while Everton now seem to be doing their best to miss out on the UEFA Cup, never mind pushing Liverpool for fourth place.

Chelsea did look poor against Wigan; a pale shadow of the side that showed such ruthless efficiency against Everton over two legs of the Carling Cup semi-final.

All the talk is of how the players have no respect for the somewhat unfairly maligned Avram Grant and it was easy to believe that as they struggled to find any fluency against Steve Bruce's men before conceding a late equaliser.

AGAINST a backdrop of lost matches and an increasingly vulnerable looking league position, Everton now seem to be contending with an increasing number of negative transfer stories too.

First there was the quote from Mikel Arteta's agent, complaining about the way his client has been overlooked by the Spanish national side, although ever since he arrived, Arteta to Atletico Madrid stories seem to mark the spring almost like the first daffodils. The latest less than encouraging headlines concern the revelation that the clock is apparently ticking on any deal to make Steven Pienaar's move to Merseyside permanent.

Now, although David Moyes has throughout the season played down the urgency of talks with the South African's people, it is probably safe to assume that behind the scenes there has been plenty of communication. Despite the belief in some quarters that everyone at Everton is utterly incompetent, it seems unlikely that Pienaar's recent interview will have been the first that the club have heard about this whole April 30 deadline, beyond which Borussia Dortmund can demand a higher fee than £2.2million.