Everton

Football in brief: Martins interests Man Utd, Everton’s Yakubu bid £1m short

By Bimbo Adesina ⋅ August 21, 2007 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Aiyegbeni skips Boro training, future in doubt
The future of Nigeria international Yakubu Aiyegbeni was on Monday put in doubt as he skipped training.

Aiyegbeni has been linked with three clubs, Manchester City, former club Portsmouth, and Everton who are thought to be leading the chase to secure his services.

Aiyegbeni’s non-appearance with his team-mates at training on Monday evening and Tuesday morning further fuelled talk that his days with the club he joined from Portsmouth for £7.5million in July 2005 could be drawing to a close.

Middlesbrough, though, have refused to comment on Yakubu’s future, but manager Gareth Southgate had repeatedly insisted that he is not for sale. Everton’s current valuation of the player is understood to be around £10.5m, £1million short of the £11.5m price Middlesbrough have attached, and their below-par offer was rejected by the club.

Everton boss David Moyes believes a compromise can be reached with the Teesiders, who need cash to push through a £6m deal for Brazilian striker Afonso Alves. Yakubu has made it clear to club officials at the Riverside he wants to move to Merseyside and was withdrawn from the squad which won at Fulham on Saturday.

Man Utd targets Martins to address scoring problem
Manchester United have reportedly made enquiries about Nigeria and Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins as they seek to address their lack of goal-scoring potency.

The Sir Alex Ferguson led United have only managed one goal in three games and the Scottish-born manager has identified the potential in Martins as the solution to the problem of creating but not converting scoring chances.

However, last week Martins said he would be ready to sign a six-year contract at St James’ Park and have the get-out clause removed from it.

Martins is said to have a £13 million release clause in his contract and Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce admitted he would be powerless to stop Martins leaving if another club matched that price provide he agreed on the move.

Martins, who had already scored two goals for Newcastle in the 3-1 thrashing of Bolton in the first game of the new season, garnered 17 goals last season.

United have Wayne Rooney out for two months with a hairline fracture of his foot, and although Louis Saha is expected to return to action within the next fortnight, there is a question mark over his longer-term fitness.

Yobo battling for fitness
Everton head physio Mick Rathbone has revealed that Nigerian international Joseph Yobo is working hard to get in shape ahead of Everton’s Premier League encounters with Blackburn.

“Yobo slipped in the first 30 seconds of the game at Tottenham and overstretched his groin. He played through the game and for Saturday it was down to the wire. He’d played the last 40 games and he didn’t give up without a fight and full marks to him for playing 89 minutes at Spurs,” Rathbone said.

“Yobo’s been fantastic, he really digs deep now, I’m not saying there were times when he didn’t, but I think when you’ve been in the country for a while, you need to play in discomfort sometimes and we’re fortunate that all our players accept that.”

The Nigerian international played every minute of every Premiership game last season and continued that record at the start of the current campaign, completing 90 minutes against both Wigan and Tottenham before he sustained a groin strain.

Allardyce may bench Martins for Owen against Sunderland
Irked by the inability of Obafemi Martins to find the back of the net in last weekend’s Premier League encounter against Aston Villa, Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce may decide to bench him against Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Martins scored two goals in the first match of the campaign, but both he and Mark Viduka were unable to find the net on Saturday and the return of Michael Owen, who has shaken off his pre-season thigh injury, means one of two are likely to miss the game at Middlesbrough.

According to Newcastle assistant manager Nigel Pearson, Owen has put the injury behind him and his ready to prove himself, “Michael’s had a frustrating time and he picked up another injury in pre-season. But I know he’ll get the bit between his teeth, and he’s desperate to play,” Pearson said.

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