If it seemed like the first offer made by Manchester United for both Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini was meant to unsettle the players and put some pressure on Everton, more bids are coming, which means the Premier League champions are a bit more serious about actually adding the duo than some thought they were.
According to the Mirror, David Moyes, who coached both players for their entire Everton stay (Fellaini since 2008, Baines since 2007), is quite persistent United and the duo, as their more continental attempts to sign players that will help them immediately have been hitting roadblock after roadblock.
The problem? United’s next offer is rumored to be around £35 million, which is split, more or less, as 20 for Fellaini and 15 for Baines. It seems that Everton value both players, individually, a lot higher than what United are willing to offer at the current time, hoping to start getting the agents of both players into a bit more assertive mode.
The interesting thing about how Baines and Fellaini have handled themselves this summer is how different it is from the spoiled and pampered style we’ve seen from Luis Suarez and especially Gareth Bale, acting like kids who aren’t allowed to play with their favorite toy by being told to respect the contracts they signed.
We haven’t heard anything from Baines about missing training or demanding a transfer, and he played in Everton’s season opener. Fellaini might be a bit more outspoken, but that is something that originates from last season and his twitter account. He does want to play for a bigger club – Chelsea or Manchester United, maybe even Arsenal, but it isn’t stopping him from giving his best for Everton and playing 90 minutes for them at the start of the league.
It’s hard to believe United not landing anybody by the end of the transfer window, and Baines-Fellaini seem like comfortable targets. But not for this price, and getting both of them, with Everton possibly not too happy about letting go of key players this late in August, might be a little bit unrealistic.