What The Papers Say - 12 July
A round-up of Thursday's Everton news.
The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do not necessarily reflect the views of Everton.
EVERTON FC are monitoring the situation of Blackburn Rovers winger Junior Hoilett, but are yet to enter into any discussions with the Canadian.
The Blues have also ruled out moves for Wigan Athletic striker Hugo Rodallega and Croatian full-back Danijel Pranjic.
Hoilett’s contract at Ewood Park has expired, and although Blackburn boss Steve Kean revealed this week that he was eager to keep the 22-year-old, he is expected to leave the Championship club in the next few weeks.
Sunderland, Queens Park Rangers and German club Borussia Moenchengladbach have all expressed an interest in signing Hoilett, who scored seven times as Blackburn were relegated last season.
The ECHO understands that Everton are keeping a close eye on the situation, but that no formal talks have taken place with the player’s representatives yet.
Hoilett would not command a transfer fee, but as he is under the age of 23, and as he was a product of Blackburn’s youth academy, any club signing him would be required to pay ‘development costs’. It is understood that these could run to more than £3million.
Everton boss David Moyes, who has already landed one forward, in Steven Naismith this summer, is eager to add to his squad before the start of the new Premier League season next month.
The Blues will not, however, be making a move for former Wigan forward Rodallega.
The Colombian is another who is out of contract this summer, but Goodison chiefs believe the 26-year-old’s wage demands are out of line with what he could bring to the club.
Rodallega scored just twice for Wigan in 23 appearances last season, and was a bit-part player as the Latics secured Premier League survival with a stunning late surge. Fulham appear to favourites to land the former Necaxa man.
Pranjic is another that has been linked with Everton all summer. The 32-year-old is looking for a new club having left Bayern Munich last month, but Goodison officials insist that no contact has been made with the player, and that none is likely to be made any time soon.
Meanwhile, Everton have announced that their opening Java Cup match in Indonesia has been rescheduled.
The Blues were initially due to play Turkish side Galatasaray on Thursday, July 26, but due to a short turnaround between their arrival in Indonesia and that opening game, the club requested they play on the Friday instead.
Everton will now open their campaign against Malaysia on Friday, July 27.
It means Everton could potentially face the prospect of two games in two days, with the third/fourth place play-off due to be held on Saturday, July 28.
The final will be played the following day.
All games will be played at Jakarta’s 88,000-seater Gelora Bung Senayan stadium and will kick-off at 8.45pm local time – 2.45pm UK time.
EVERTON FC have unveiled their new Nike home kit today, featuring distinctive wide white cuffs.
Supporters can see the home strip in action for the first time this Saturday in the Blues’ pre-season friendly at Morecambe.
The new strip is now available to pre-order on evertondirect.com and will go on sale in store and online on Thursday, 19 July.
The kit will be officially launched next Thursday with an event at Everton One, adjacent to Goodison Park, where a club legend will be in store to meet fans.
DAVID MOYES will ramp up his attempts to bolster his squad after Hugo Rodallega priced himself out of a move to Everton.
Rodallega, who is a free agent having departed Wigan Athletic at the end of last season, was one of several players Moyes has been tracking this summer.
But the Goodison outfit cooled their interest after it emerged the Colombia international was demanding a wage of £70,000 a week.
That would have smashed Everton’s wage structure and made Rodallega – now poised for Fulham – one of the highest paid players in the club’s history.
Instead, Moyes will concentrate on other targets and remains hopeful a deal can be struck to bring Steven Pienaar back to Goodison from Tottenham Hotspur on a permanent basis.
The Everton manager has already strengthened his strikeforce by capitalising on the financial meltdown at Rangers by snapping up Steven Naismith on a free transfer.
Naismith continues to recover from the cruciate knee ligament damage that has sidelined him since October, and is confident of being available for the Premier League opener against Manchester United on August 20.
The Scotland international followed the same path of Nikica Jelavic, who moved from Ibrox to Goodison in January for £5.5million.
Naismith and Jelavic enjoyed a profitable partnership at Rangers, with the pair scoring 44 goals between them in the 37 games they appeared together.
And Naismith said: "I’m looking forward to linking up with Nikica again. I had a good 18 months with him at Rangers and we were really successful in that time personally in terms of goals and assists for each other.
"He’s started his Everton career very well so hopefully I can start mine half as well as he has!
"The manager has got a great reputation for making players better and the squad has obviously got real quality in it. Playing with better players will make you a better player too.
"Hopefully I’ll create chances and get my fair share of goals too. That’s the most enjoyable bit of the game for myself."
Moyes has pinpointed Naismith’s versatility as a key to his arrival at Everton, and the player added: "My best position is probably playing on the right or just off a striker. When I say on the right, it's not as a winger. I'm more of a player who will try to link up the midfield and the attack.
"I think I'm a similar player to Ossie. Just seeing him in bits of training, he gets the ball and links up in that area between the strikers. That's the kind of player I am."
Meanwhile, Everton’s pre-season programme has altered with Moyes’s side now opening their Java Cup campaign against Malaysia on July 27.
Moyes’s men had been set to start against Galatasaray 24 hours earlier, but due to a short turnaround between their arrival in Indonesia and their opening game, tournament organisers have agreed to a request to play on a later date.
The third-place play-off will be held on Saturday July 28, with the winners of the two opening games contesting the final of the Java Cup on Sunday July 29. All games will be played at Jakarta’s 88,000-seater Gelora Bung Senayan stadium and will kick-off at 2.45pm UK time.
The huge pay demands of Colombian Hugo Rodallega have seen him price himself out of a move to Everton.
Rodallega, who is a free agent having left Wigan Athletic at the end of last season, held talks with David Moyes but was asking for £70,000 a week, which would have made him one of the highest-paid players in the club's history. Everton are unwilling to break their pay structure to sign a striker who scored two goals in 21 appearances for Wigan last season but who proved his Premier League ability in previous campaigns.
Fulham are also interested in him, having missed out on Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, who opted to join Reading despite his successful loan spell at Craven Cottage last season. Rodallega was Wigan's top goalscorer in his first full season at the club after signing from Mexican side Necaxa for £4.5m in 2009.
Everton will look elsewhere for a new striker after top target, Wigan's Hugo Rodallega, demanded £70,000 a week.