Manchester United last night had an increased bid of €44.5 million rejected for Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines as David Moyes continues to pursue his former players at Everton.
United failed with a €32 million joint offer for the Belgium midfielder and England left-back a fortnight ago, with Everton labelling the joint bid “derisory and insulting”.
The Premier League champions have returned with an improved offer but again found Everton unwilling to sell, although talks are likely to continue between Moyes and the Goodison Park chairman, Bill Kenwright, before Monday’s transfer deadline.
Moyes’s successor as Everton manager, Roberto Martinez, said he was unaware of a renewed United bid for his players yesterday but pointedly admitted that Kenwright will have the final say on transfers at the club.
Fellaini had a €27.5 million buyout clause in his contract that expired on July 31st and, though Martinez has said Everton will not sell for less, that clause is reactivated in January.
Three offers
United have now had three offers rejected for Baines and may ultimately have more success with an individual bid for Fellaini. The Everton manager has contingency plans in the event of the midfielder's departure and confirmed an inquiry has been made for Republic of Ireland midfielder James McCarthy at Wigan Athletic.
Gareth Barry is another midfield target providing a compromise can be reached with Manchester City over his €140,000-a-week wages.
Despite his stance that Everton do not want to sell Baines or Fellaini, Martinez said the club must be “prepared for anything” before Monday’s transfer deadline and made the significant admission that negotiations will be left to Kenwright and United.
“I am not aware of it,” he said of an improved United bid. “I have told the chairman I don’t want to know anything that’s going on, I only want to know the final news if there is anything.
“I have had enough of ‘he said this, he said that’. This is a really sensitive situation because you’re talking of a chairman and previous manager [Moyes] who had a relationship over 11 years. A lot of things have been said in public and I don’t want to be part of that. But I have never had any instruction that anything has changed.”
Martinez reiterated that Baines had not requested to be allowed to rejoin Moyes at Old Trafford.
Guardian Service