Thursday 11 September 2014 12:37, UK
Everton manager Roberto Martinez was pleased to get his transfer business done well before deadline day, claiming last-minute deals which failed to go through were 'not right for the club'.
Martinez secured the signings of Ferencvaros defensive midfielder Muhamed Besic and Chelsea strikers Samuel Eto’o and Romelu Lukaku, for a club-record £28million fee, with the Cameroonian's arrival the club's final signing in the week before the September 1 deadline.
Tom Cleverley appeared to have lined up a move to Goodison Park on deadline day but reported differences in valuation between Everton and Manchester United led to the deal collapsing, before the midfielder switched to Aston Villa, after Premier League ratification, the following day.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash with West Brom, Martinez said: “You always get it on the last day of the window. There is always an opportunity that arises and we were looking at a couple of those.
“On Cleverley, obviously we will never be disrespectful in talking about a player that is not on our books but that’s the nature of the window. I felt that it was an opportunity for us to add a player that would bring something different but in the end it wasn’t right.
“It didn’t work out and I was very pleased that this time round we had all the business done well before the end of the transfer deadline.
“So in that respect I was quite happy. We tried to look into a couple of opportunities but they never came off and the reality is that they probably weren’t the right one for us.”
