Guardian Report
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/se...n.premierleague
David Moyes has indicated his long-term future may lie at Goodison rather than St James' Park having purposely praised the Everton board for sanctioning the club record transfer of Marouane Fellaini.
Despondency had shaped the Everton manager's early season mood, with the lack of new signings prompting his refusal to sign a contract extension that has sat on his desk for four months and the business relationship between Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and Sir Philip Green, the billionaire retailer who has provided financial assistance at Everton, making the 45-year-old a front-runner to replace Kevin Keegan on Tyneside.
That uncertainty will linger until Moyes extends a contract that is due to expire at the end of this season. However, having flown to Belgium to tie up the £15m deal for Fellaini on Monday night, the Everton manager suggested his loyalty to chairman Bill Kenwright had survived a troubled summer yesterday when he credited the club's hierarchy for breaking the club's transfer record for the fourth time in three years.
In what may prove the most expensive signing in Everton's history plus the most important where Moyes' immediate future is concerned, he also heralded the 20-year-old former Standard Liege midfielder as befitting his long-term vision for the club.
Moyes, who may revisit his contract now that the transfer window has closed, said: "We have been chasing Marouane for two years, we have known his agent for a long time and we knew he was a talent. We just had to decide when to do it. The two games he played against Liverpool (in the Champions League qualifiers) have shown he is ready to take the step up.
"The Uefa Cup draw (Everton v Standard Liege) made it more difficult and because his performances brought him to everyone's attention, the fee has gone up. But I am really pleased to have him here. I have to thank Bill and the board for what they have done.
"There is a path I have tried to take as Everton manager and that is buying young players who are hungry to play. It is not always easy to stay on that route. We have had a couple of disappointments during the summer, although the club has really done nothing wrong. Clubs haven't wanted to sell or wages have been too high and we have a tight wage structure here."
Felliani agreed a five-year contract worth at least £20,000-a-week with Everton, the deal being completed just minutes before Monday's deadline, to become Moyes' fifth signing in the final week of the window. The Belgium international joins Danish right back Lars Jacobsen, Ecuadorian midfielder Segundo Castillo, former Manchester United striker Louis Saha and back-up goalkeeper Carlo Nash as Everton's summer purchases, but is ineligible to play in Europe until January due to his Champions League appearances against Liverpool.
Moyes, who raised £10.5m this summer through the sale of Andy Johnson to Fulham, added: "He is only 20 and people have to remember that, but I have big hopes for him and feel he can improve a lot. There were some big European clubs in for him in the summer, but Standard Liege didn't want to sell him. The deal itself was incredibly tight, the tightest I have been involved in. We were closing in on things, but struggling to get one or two elements done so I caught a flight (to Brussels) with the secretary David Harrison and it took a real big effort from the board and the chairman to get there."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/se...n.premierleague
David Moyes has indicated his long-term future may lie at Goodison rather than St James' Park having purposely praised the Everton board for sanctioning the club record transfer of Marouane Fellaini.
Despondency had shaped the Everton manager's early season mood, with the lack of new signings prompting his refusal to sign a contract extension that has sat on his desk for four months and the business relationship between Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and Sir Philip Green, the billionaire retailer who has provided financial assistance at Everton, making the 45-year-old a front-runner to replace Kevin Keegan on Tyneside.
That uncertainty will linger until Moyes extends a contract that is due to expire at the end of this season. However, having flown to Belgium to tie up the £15m deal for Fellaini on Monday night, the Everton manager suggested his loyalty to chairman Bill Kenwright had survived a troubled summer yesterday when he credited the club's hierarchy for breaking the club's transfer record for the fourth time in three years.
In what may prove the most expensive signing in Everton's history plus the most important where Moyes' immediate future is concerned, he also heralded the 20-year-old former Standard Liege midfielder as befitting his long-term vision for the club.
Moyes, who may revisit his contract now that the transfer window has closed, said: "We have been chasing Marouane for two years, we have known his agent for a long time and we knew he was a talent. We just had to decide when to do it. The two games he played against Liverpool (in the Champions League qualifiers) have shown he is ready to take the step up.
"The Uefa Cup draw (Everton v Standard Liege) made it more difficult and because his performances brought him to everyone's attention, the fee has gone up. But I am really pleased to have him here. I have to thank Bill and the board for what they have done.
"There is a path I have tried to take as Everton manager and that is buying young players who are hungry to play. It is not always easy to stay on that route. We have had a couple of disappointments during the summer, although the club has really done nothing wrong. Clubs haven't wanted to sell or wages have been too high and we have a tight wage structure here."
Felliani agreed a five-year contract worth at least £20,000-a-week with Everton, the deal being completed just minutes before Monday's deadline, to become Moyes' fifth signing in the final week of the window. The Belgium international joins Danish right back Lars Jacobsen, Ecuadorian midfielder Segundo Castillo, former Manchester United striker Louis Saha and back-up goalkeeper Carlo Nash as Everton's summer purchases, but is ineligible to play in Europe until January due to his Champions League appearances against Liverpool.
Moyes, who raised £10.5m this summer through the sale of Andy Johnson to Fulham, added: "He is only 20 and people have to remember that, but I have big hopes for him and feel he can improve a lot. There were some big European clubs in for him in the summer, but Standard Liege didn't want to sell him. The deal itself was incredibly tight, the tightest I have been involved in. We were closing in on things, but struggling to get one or two elements done so I caught a flight (to Brussels) with the secretary David Harrison and it took a real big effort from the board and the chairman to get there."
Any more and you'll be getting that!
