Transfer news: Roberto Martinez tells Manchester United they are 'wasting their time' if they make another offer for Everton duo Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines
Toffees boss speaks out over David Moyes' pursuit of his former players after reports emerge that United are preparing a £35m double bid
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Roberto Martinez has issued a statement labelling Manchester United’s pursuit if Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini a “waste of time” following the news that David Moyes could return with a £35m double bid for the Everton duo.
The Merseyside club rejected United’s initial £28m bid as “derisory and insulting”, having failed to increase their original £12m offer for left-back Baines towards the beginning of the summer.
Martinez has now spoken out over the matter in an attempt to fend off the former Toffees boss as he looks to raid the club he left to head to Old Trafford and succeed the retired Sir Alex Ferguson.
Speaking in an exclusive interview to the club’s official website, Martinez said: "It's been well documented what happened with the transfer speculation, that's been dealt with and it was all a little bit of a waste of time - time I don't want the players to waste.
“"I think the situation is very clear. I think as a football club we will always keep our fans informed. I'm not a big believer in having the window open while the games are starting. I think the start of the season was important for us at Norwich and I won't come out now and carry on talking about the speculation.
"When there is something to tell our fans we will do that - they'll be the first ones to know if there are any players coming in or any players going out.”
A lot has been said this week from managers such as Martinez and Newcastle’s Alan Pardew over whether the transfer window should shut before the beginning of the Premier League season.
Martinez is undeterred in his efforts to keep hold of his current squad, while Pardew chose to withdraw midfielder Yohan Cabaye from his squad to face Manchester City last night after Arsenal made a £10m offer earlier in the day.
"I don't believe in getting involved in the transfer window when the games are underway and we are in a very, very important moment of our season,” added Martinez.
“We're trying to find our feet, we got a good start under our belts, we've got real competition for places and we've got the visit of West Brom at the weekend.
"The players have had the demands of international football and then they started the league with a lot of travelling, so obviously you can imagine it's been important these past few days that we can get them recovered, regenerate them in the right manner and get them ready for the next game. That, at the moment, is our only focus."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments