Everton fans have grown even more mutinous following the humiliation of their team in Wednesday night’s Merseyside derby. Were it not for this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final, one suspects their manager, Roberto Martínez, might already have been asked to clear his desk and take an early summer holiday, as the club prepare for a close-season spending spree fuelled by the rumoured £100m transfer war-chest their billionaire Iranian shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, is making available to the club. The Mirror reports that nothing less than outright victory in the FA Cup will give Martínez “any chance” of staying in the job. Everton haven’t won a trophy since 1995, when Paul Rideout’s 30th-minute goal proved the difference between the Toffees and their imminent semi-final opponents Manchester United. David Moyes (2-1) and Marcelo Bielsa (4-1) currently head the betting market to identify the incumbent’s successor.
Martínez won’t be the only high-profile name making his way out of Goodison Park this summer, what with Chelsea widely reported to have renewed their interest in luring the central defender John Stones to London. Ace reporter Dominic Fifield, of this parish, put finger to keyboard yesterday to announce that Chelsea will face competition from Manchester City, Manchester United and Barcelona in the race to sign Stones, suggesting the 21-year-old is just one of several defenders who has been identified as targets by the incoming manager, Antonio Conte. The Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci and his Paris Saint-Germain counterpart Marquinhos are also understood to feature prominently on the Italian’s shopping list.
One man who is unlikely to inching his way across Conte’s radar is Joleon Lescott, whose most impressive defensive displays this season were reserved for social media spats with assorted Aston Villa fans. Aged 33 and with a year left on his contract, Lescott may be prepared to sit tight and collect his £44,000 per week wages during Villa’s first season in the second tier since 1987-88.
The number of players called Mousa Dembélé who ply their trade for Tottenham Hotspur could increase by one next season if speculation linking Fulham’s striker with a move to White Hart Lane is anything to go by. The 19-year-old Frenchman Moussa, not to be confused with Tottenham’s Belgian midfielder of the same-ish name, was signed from PSG in 2012 and has also attracted attention from Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea this season. With his contract due to expire this summer, a move seems inevitable and his tender years mean his transfer fee would be decided by tribunal.
The face of the West Ham left-back Aaron Cresswell has been spotted on assorted “wanted” signs posted around Anfield, where Jürgen Klopp is also rumoured to be lining up Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson in his crosshairs. The 24-year-old from Coventry scored five goals for the Cherries before succumbing to a serious injury that cost him seven months of his maiden Premier League season, but has shown no ill-effects since returning to action earlier this month. And finally, Crystal Palace could provide a new home for Alex Song, who will not be offered a permanent deal by West Ham, where he is on loan from Barcelona. The Cameroon international is unlikely to be massively enthused by the prospect of a move to south London as it would entail taking a massive pay cut.
