Versatile Everton star drawing Manchester United attention
Sir Alex Ferguson is reported to be weighing up an offer for a certain Everton midfielder as he looks to bolster his creative options; but it’s not the one people would first expect.
The man in question is Seamus Coleman who, despite not possessing an acute eye for goal, has been one of the Toffees’ most consistent players over the past year.
When hearing of transfer news between Everton and United, one would immediately think that Jack Rodwell was the man in question, and rightly so given Ferguson’s three year chase to sign the starlet.
However, the Scot now sees a switch in attention as the most beneficial thing for the Red Devils and the versatile Coleman as the ideal alternative.
The Republic of Ireland international has made over 60 appearances for Everton since joining from Sligo Rovers in 2009 for a fee of around £150,000.
The deal is yet another example of expertly crude business by Everton helmsman David Moyes who somehow manages to keep the Merseyside outfit in contention for consistent top half Premier League finishes despite the meagre budgets he is forced to last on.
Coleman could be the perfect purchase for the current Premier League champions at the moment, given their current injury predicament.
The English giants have suffered the loss of Darren Fletcher who will be out for the foreseeable future with a stomach illness, as well as losing Tom Cleverley who isn’t expected to recover from his ankle injury until mid-February.
Rio Ferdinand and the da Silva twins has also been suffering from recurring short-term injuries this campaign and when coupled with the season-ending injury to Nemanja Vidic, Ferguson’s side start to look short-handed at the back.
Although naturally a right midfielder, Coleman is more than capable of playing in the right-back position and has also featured well in central midfield on more than one occasion.
The 23 year-old’s signature would mean that Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Antonio Valencia would no longer have to fill in at right back and could revert to their natural positions of centre-backs and right winger, respectively.
It’s suspected that Coleman would carry a price-tag of around £11m and while Ferguson would most definitely rather sign long-term target, Rodwell, he may give in to necessity and sign the Irishman as a replacement.
