What The Papers Say - 17 May

Blues won't sell Jagielka, Hammers could be interested in Yakubu

The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do not necessarily reflect the views of Everton. 

 

 

EVERTON insist they have absolutely no intention of selling Phil Jagielka.

Weekend reports claim a host of top clubs, including Arsenal and Manchester United, are ready to swoop for the Blues central defender.

The message from Everton, however, is simple; do not bother.

Jagielka has been one of the Premier League’s most consistent centre-halves since joining Everton from Sheffield United three years ago and has become an England international since moving to Goodison Park.

Despite missing out on Fabio Capello’s provisional 30-man World Cup squad last week, the 28-year-old is still regarded as one of the most improved defenders in the country.

Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger, is thought to see Jagielka as an ideal partner for Thomas Vermaelen if, as expected, William Gallas leaves on a free transfer this summer.

United manager, Alex Ferguson is also thought to be an admirer of the versatile player who can also play at full-back and in midfield.

But any approach for Jagielka will be strongly resisted by Everton.

David Moyes has made clear his plans for strengthening his squad this summer and has been backed by chief executive Robert Elstone who said: “As we finalise budgets and identify funds, we move into the player market and consider the existing playing squad with the sole objective of starting 2010/11 with a stronger, more competitive squad than the season just finished.”

Jagielka is central to the club’s plans and Moyes is looking to add to his squad in a bid to continue the momentum that saw Everton end the 2009/10 season with just two defeats in 24 games.

With Jagielka valued at £15million upwards, Everton could make a huge profit on a player who cost just £4million.

However, with Moyes building a squad capable of challenging at the top of the Premier League, selling his best players is not an option.

Should the interest in Jagielka increase, Everton will be keen to avoid a saga similar to last year that saw Joleon Lescott move to Manchester City in late August.

Moyes has admitted the drawn out Lescott affair disrupted the start to Everton’s campaign and will be quick to ward off any possible suitors for Jagielka’s signature.

Meanwhile, Landon Donovan has backed Leighton Baines to make England’s final World Cup squad.

The USA captain, who will come up against England in South Africa in a Group C clash in Rustenburg on June 12, said:

“I’m not surprised that Bainesy made it (into England’s 30-man squad).
“It would be awesome to play against him on June 12th.”

 

 

 

LANDON DONOVAN is backing Leighton Baines to make the England World Cup squad and set up a mouth watering reunion.

The US star gained immediate hero status at Goodison Park after a string of superb displays whilst on loan from LA Galaxy this season.

A return to Everton in the January transfer window next season could be an option manager David Moyes explores but for the time being fans will have to make do with watching Donovan from afar.

However, the American is hoping to meet up with one of Moyes’ men much sooner than that when the USA take on England on June 12 in their opening Group C World Cup match.

Left-back Baines has already been named in Fabio Capello’s 30-man provisional squad but Donovan believes the Kirkby-born player is good enough to make the final 23 and face him in Rustenburg.

Donovan said: “I’m not surprised that Bainesy made it.

“I was really impressed with him during my time at Everton and I’m pulling for him to make the 23 man roster.

“It would be awesome to play against him on June 12, although I trained against him almost every day for three months and it wasn’t all that enjoyable for me!”

Meanwhile, Everton’s luckless year with injuries has taken a turn for the better this week with the news youngster Dan Gosling is expected to return to fitness sooner than thought.

Fears were Gosling would miss nine months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament against Wolves in March but assistant Steve Round reports the England Under-21 international’s recovery is going well after successful surgery.

He said: “Dan is doing very well after his surgery. There was less damage than we first thought so that was a positive.

“He has got a lot of rehabilitation to do and a lot of hard work ahead of him.

“All being well, if Dan puts the time and effort in and follows the programme there is no reason why he shouldn’t make a full recovery.”

 

 

 

West Ham are considering a move for Everton’s Nigeria striker Yakubu.

The Upton Park side, who are expected to name Avram Grant as manager this week, are bracing themselves for bids from Fulham, Birmingham and Aston Villa for striker Carlton Cole and consider 27-year-old Yakubu a possible replacement.

He has battled back after a bad achilles injury but Everton manager David Moyes wants to bring in fresh options up front with Manchester City’s Craig Bellamy among his targets.

A decent offer may tempt Everton to sell a player they bought for £11.25m in 2007.

West Ham are also likely to offload Ilan, Guillermo Franco and Alessandro Diamanti but are still interested in former Birmingham striker Christian Benitez, as Sportsmail revealed.

Moyes was in Turin on Saturday to watch Torino’s Italy Under 21 international defender Angelo Ogbonna put on an impressive show against Vicenza. Moyes is also interested in Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha.

 

 

 

PERCEPTION can be a strange mistress. Less than 12 months ago, Everton supporters were floating on the high of another fifth-place finish with the prospect of an FA Cup final to come.

Had they been told then that in the following year their team would sell one of its most valued assets, miss out on European qualification and make negligible impact on the cup competitions, the indignation would have been tangible.

Things, though, aren’t always quite what they seem. And while the bare facts suggest a season of failure, the truth is Evertonians can barely wait until the first ball is kicked in the Premier League in mid-August.

Such has been the story for David Moyes’s men this term, where initial hopes were soon replaced by a sense of foreboding that eventually made way for one of great encouragement.

It’s often unwise to cite a single moment as the turning point of a campaign but, as chairman Bill Kenwright suggested at the club’s annual awards dinner last week, Tim Howard’s injury-time penalty save that prevented Jermain Defoe from earning Tottenham Hotspur victory at Goodison in December is impossible to ignore.

Everton, having lost the home derby the previous weekend to slip to 16th after taking just 15 points from their first 14 games, had fought back from 2-0 down to level the game.

A last-gasp loss could have dealt a devastating blow to morale, but Howard’s stop sparked a run of just two defeats in their remaining 24 games in which the Goodison outfit played some of their most entertaining, enterprising and effective football under Moyes’s tenure.

Perception, however, demands such improvement should also be put into some context.

The travails of others meant that, despite a reminder from Moyes in the wake of the season’s nadir of defeat at Hull City, relegation was never in question, and while they ended the season just two points adrift of neighbours Liverpool, the Goodison outfit were never in a position to genuinely threaten European qualification. It gave Everton a space in which to rebuild confidence and develop their game without the expectation that had weighed so heavily upon their shoulders at the start of the campaign.

Moyes will be canny enough to acknowledge more will be learned of his charges next season when supporters and critics, persuaded by the form in 2010, will be much more demanding.

That brings its own problems. Indeed, it is telling that when the onus was truly on Everton – think the FA Cup home tie to Birmingham City, the Europa League return at Sporting Lisbon and the Anfield derby after Liverpool were reduced to 10 men – they failed to deliver. The point is reinforced when assessing arguably Everton’s two best results of the season, the home victories over championship-chasing duo Manchester United and Chelsea.

On both occasions, Moyes’s men began as underdogs, with any expectation being completely erased by falling behind early on. Maybe their opponents relaxed, but Everton will not be underestimated again next season.

However, those victories – along with the double over Manchester City and the draw at Arsenal – demonstrated Everton were at last capable of gaining regular results against teams of greater resource and apparent standing. The positives far outweigh any negatives that may linger.

Of course, the reversal of fortunes coincided with the easing of an injury crisis that at one point threatened to reach comic levels.

Not that anyone at Finch Farm was laughing. Mikel Arteta, Yakubu, Victor Anichebe and Phil Jagielka began the season nursing long-term injuries, Marouane Fellaini and Dan Gosling ended it in the same manner while Phil Neville and Tony Hibbert suffered in between.

Opportunity therefore knocked for a number of fringe players – young Seamus Coleman leaving a substantial mark during his flirtation with the first team – the success of which proves Everton now possess a strength in depth unheralded under Moyes.

It means the manager’s battle this summer, rather than attempting to lure players to Goodison, will instead be concentrated on ensuring the spine of his team remains intact, although talk of a quiet transfer market perhaps says more about his perennial battle for the release of funds while working within tight financial restraints.

Fingers will be crossed Steven Pienaar – Everton’s richly-deserved player of the year – is persuaded to stay put, but lessons learned from the Joleon Lescott saga, which was allowed to cast far too long a shadow over the start of the season, means the fall-out from any departure will surely be swiftly addressed.

Moyes spent the Lescott windfall wisely. Sylvain Distin has brought composure and experience to the back line, John Heitinga’s full-blooded displays have already made him a cult hero while Diniyar Bilyaletdinov’s flourish during the closing weeks suggests he has become steeled to the rigours of English football.

Lucas Neill came and went while the less said about Jo’s loan spell the better, and although the unlucky Philippe Senderos fared little better, the arrival of Landon Donovan in January for a three-month stay helped kickstart Everton’s climb up the table.

Of the established squad members, Leighton Baines went from strength to strength, Howard remained a calming presence in goal, Fellaini was “the best midfielder in the country” according to Moyes until injury struck while Jack Rodwell, still only 19, continued to demonstrate why he will blossom into an England regular.

It wasn’t all good news, though. Joseph Yobo and Yakubu have struggled with form – the latter understandably affected by his lengthy injury absence – while patience is wearing thin for James Vaughan to realise his potential.

The cups, such a fertile ground in recent years, were also disappointing, Tottenham ending League Cup interest at the last 16 stage while the 5-0 Europa League thrashing in Lisbon to Benfica highlighted the yawning gap to the Continent’s leading sides.

One final sobering thought. Everton’s tally of 61 points equalled the highest for an eighth-placed team during the Premier League era and was only two less than their previous campaign, yet the spending power of Manchester City, Tottenham and Aston Villa meant all three finished higher in the table.

It won’t get any easier for Moyes and his players next season, but at least they are now in a position where there is nothing to fear.