What The Papers Say - 21 November

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

Everton manager David Moyes has dismissed suggestions teenage midfielder Jack Rodwell could be on the verge of leaving Goodison Park amid reported interest from Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.

The Scot’s Stamford Bridge counterpart, Carlo Ancelotti, was thought to be keen to sign the 18-year-old midfielder in January in case FIFA uphold the transfer ban, currently suspended, imposed on Chelsea for the Gael Kakuta affair, while Sir Alex Ferguson has been tracking the player’s progress for more than a year.

But Moyes insists he has had no contact with any club over Rodwell, who signed an improved five-year deal earlier this season, and made it perfectly clear he would do everything in his power to keep Everton’s crown jewel out of the clutches of the Premier League’s predators.

“You could come and look at my desk, check my phones to see if I have had any calls from Manchester United, or Chelsea, or whoever,” said the Everton manager.

“We have had nothing. It is hard for me to turn round and say he will not be leaving, because I said I would not sell [Joleon] Lescott, but have we had any contact with a club, or are we sitting on an offer? No.”

David Moyes has warned Manchester United to keep their eyes - and hands - off Jack Rodwell.

The Old Trafford club have been linked with a massive bid for Everton's brilliant teenage star, and will undoubtedly put him under the microscope when the two sides meet at Old Trafford tonight.

But Blues boss Moyes is angry and frustrated at suggestions there is already a bid on the table from United or Chelsea for the England under-21 midfielder.

And instead he flatly declared that the sale of Rodwell is not even an option up for discussion, never mind a transfer that could happen imminently.

"Of course Jack is a talented young player who is English and already established in the Premier League at a top-six club, so there is bound to be interest from other clubs," Moyes insisted.

"But that is hypothetical, for the future, and yet people are saying it has come now. It hasn't. We are not sitting on an offer, and really, what is the point in answering, because there is nothing there at all.

"I could say I want Jonny Evans or Jack Wilshere, but people will say I've no chance of getting them, and that's how I feel about Rodwell. It is frustrating because it has been presented as fact, when it isn't.

"I don't doubt he is on other teams' radars, but he's on ours, and we have had nothing, and that's the end of the matter."

Moyes knows that any denial will be taken with a hint of cynicism because he insisted that Joleon Lescott wasn't for sale, but then ended up moving to Manchester City.

But he is genuine when he says that Everton aren't interested in selling, because the player has a long contract and is totally committed to the club.

Figures as low as £12million have been quoted as potential offers, but given that Rodwell could yet go to the World Cup with England, and is an attractive proposition because he is a home-grown talent with restrictions on foreign players set to be implemented, that is laughable.

Everton would want to keep the technically-gifted midfielder until he matures, and then - if he continues to progress at his current rate - would only listen to offers if the figure is at least three times the money currently being mentioned.

But Moyes was adamant that it is not even on the agenda, when he added: "You can check my phones, you can come and sit at my desk and have a look, and there has been nothing, not a call, not a conversation and certainly not a bid on the table," he said.

"He has a five-year contract and he's very level-headed. There's no point in me turning round and saying he's not for sale, because we said that with Lescott and had to sell in the end. But what I can tell you is - 100 per cent - we have had nothing.

"It's hard for me to talk about these things because of Lescott and, to be honest, I don't even want to go there because it's rubbish."

Moyes has his usual injury nightmare for the visit to Old Trafford, with Tim Cahill and Louis Saha the latest names on the doubtful list, but both are expected to shrug off problems to face the champions.

He had to settle for a watching brief from the bench last season but, as Everton prepare to cross swords with Manchester United again on Saturday evening, Jack Rodwell is surely heading for his first appearance at Old Trafford. One way or another, it won't be his last.

Still four months short of his 19th birthday, Rodwell's status as an automatic pick at the heart of midfield has unsurprisingly made its way on to Sir Alex Ferguson's radar. It raises the possibility of another Everton prodigy moving from Merseyside to Manchester.

Wayne Rooney blazed the trail five years ago and many an informed onlooker is tipping Rodwell to tread the same path next summer.

Everton will do their best to resist, naturally, but an air of inevitability attends most transfer manoeuvres involving Ferguson. The day £20million changes hands to provide a new showcase for Rodwell's talents may not be far off.

It could edge a step nearer if the versatile midfielder continues his quest to make Birkdale a byword for football as well as golf by further stalling United's drive for another Barclays Premier League crown.

A tall order for a fresh-faced 18-year-old, perhaps, but Rodwell has been making light of daunting challenges all his life.

He was six when Liverpool advised him to forget football as a career opportunity and just turned 10 when a team of oversized, over-aged adolescents threatened to trample him underfoot in a tournament in Belgium.

The way he survived both ordeals speaks volumes for a widespread belief within Everton's coaching staff that he can go on to fill Rio Ferdinand's boots in central defence. He has England in mind, but his old boss at Birkdale United won't be the least bit surprised if he does it at Old Trafford as well.

'They're getting on a bit at the back at United and I can see him not only going there but eventually moving to centre half,' said Steve Cattlin. 'You can be sure he'd take it in his stride because he has been like that since he started training with us as a six-year-old. I took one look at him and recommended him to Everton straightaway.

'I remember taking him to their Bellefield training ground with his mum and dad and hearing how Liverpool had told him he wasn't good enough. There was never any chance of that happening at Everton. After that first session, Ray Hall, who's now their academy director, told me he would happily pay £50million for him. It may have been a bit tongue in cheek, but it told you what an impression Jack made.

'It was like watching a younger version of how he is now. He concentrated on the simple things but did them so well. There was a calm assurance about the way he kept the ball and passed it and even then he was very athletic. Ray made it clear he had a future at Everton and that really counted with Jack's family when Liverpool came back in soon after.

'They realised they had made a mistake and offered him a fresh start, but his dad Malcolm told me, "Everton have been really good with Jack. We're sticking with them". There was so much that impressed me about Jack then. I used to watch from the touchline and think he was going to be like his uncle, Tony Rodwell, who had one of the best left feet in the game when he played for Blackpool nearly 20 years ago.

'Then another of the coaches would join me and rave about a pass he'd pinged with his right and it suddenly hit me that he was one of the most two-footed kids I'd ever seen. It was unusual for a lad his age, but it just felt natural to receive the ball on either side and play it with that foot.

'Nothing fazed him, either, and that was never more evident than when we went to a tournament in Belgium. It was supposed to be for 10-year-olds, but the locals seemed to make the rules up as they went along, because the team we faced were a good five years older.

'They all had sideburns and at least one of them had grown a beard! They towered over our boys and I thought, "Oh no, here we go". You could see the apprehension on a few faces, but not Jack's. He was never one for saying much, but he didn't bat an eyelid. Never flinched. He went out and ran rings round lads who were virtually grown men. We only lost 3-2, which was incredible given the difference in size, and Jack got the man-of-the-match award.

'He has always had that steeliness about him and that's one reason why I'm sure he would thrive at Old Trafford. If you are ambitious, you want to better yourself and it would be a natural progression. Size and strength wouldn't be a problem at the back, either. He'll carry on growing for a couple of years yet. It's not the be all and end all anyway - not when you can read the game like Jack can.'

An irate Everton boss David Moyes insisted there had been no contact from United but stopped short of claiming Rodwell would never be sold, following the saga of Joleon Lescott's acrimonious move to Manchester City.

'Why is it inevitable Jack will go?' he asked. 'I can't turn round and say it will never happen because I said that about Lescott, but we have heard nothing so far. I haven't had a single phone call and I can tell you we are not sitting on any offer.'

FRUSTRATED David Moyes admits his under-performing players are being spared the axe by Everton’s chronic injury problems.

And those fitness concerns are showing no signs of abating with Tim Cahill a major doubt for this evening’s journey down the East Lancs Road to take on Manchester United.

Moyes had hoped the recent international break would offer a chance for some of the absentees to return, with Leon Osman, Steven Pienaar and Phil Neville slated for a possible comeback at Old Trafford.

However, the Goodison manager is likely to be without all three with Cahill in danger of joining the trio on the sidelines after suffering a groin strain while playing for Australia.

Everton resume Premier League hostilities having earned their first win in eight games with the 2-1 victory at West Ham United a fortnight ago.

But Moyes fears the current lack of competition for places is making it difficult to punish players for poor performances.

“Steven Pienaar and Phil Neville are not close to playing,” said the Goodison manager. “I hoped after the West Ham game that the break would give us a chance to go into this game with no new players out, so from that point of view it makes it difficult trying to find a team out of what we have got.

“We’re having to play people out of position, who are not in good form, people who ideally we would give a rest to. The hardest thing is that if people are not performing well, they are getting rewarded with the next game.

“Normally we would not get that but we don’t have any options, and we’re trying to find a winning formula out of 12 or 13 players.”

The injuries have given opportunities to several players including Dan Gosling, who netted the what was ultimately the winner at Upton Park.

And despite reiterating the 19-year-old is being over-utilised at present, Moyes reckons the teenager has shown an appetite to learn.

“Dan’s stepped up to every challenge,” he said. “It’s a big stage and if he plays tomorrow I think he will be able to handle it.

“We are asking a lot of him. He’s playing regularly, but in an ideal world he’d be getting a game here or there.

“He did really well a couple of times, got his name in during the Liverpool games, but at the moment the injuries to the wide boys means he has to play. He sees himself as a central midfielder but we have to play him where we think we can get something out of him.

“He can get himself the odd goal, he has that in his locker.”

Jack Rodwell is another Everton youngster to have become an integral part of the midfield in recent months, with his performances reportedly drawing interest from Manchester United and Chelsea.

Moyes, though, has dismissed suggestions of any contact from potential suitors.

“Look, what I can say on Rodwell, is that we have had nothing, no calls, no enquiries, and there is certainly not a bid on the table,” said the Everton manager. “You can check my phones, you can come and sit at my desk and have a look, and there has been nothing.

“He has a five-year contract and he’s very level-headed. There’s no point in me turning round and saying he’s not for sale, because we said that with Lescott and had to sell in the end. But what I can tell you is – 100% – we have had nothing.

“Of course Jack is a talented young player who is English and already established in the Premier League at a top six club, so there is bound to be interest from other clubs.

“But that is hypothetical, for the future, and yet people are saying it has come now. It hasn’t. I don’t doubt he is on other teams’ radars, but he’s on ours, and we have had nothing, and that’s the end of the matter.”

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov is absent this evening as he serves the second of his three-game suspension, while Phil Jagielka, Mikel Arteta, Victor Anichebe and James Vaughan are all still out.