ToffeeWeb - Season 2009-10

The Mail Bag

£8 million bid for Saha

According to the News of the World Everton recieved an £8million bid for Saha. Why didn't they accept it? He is a 31-year-old asthmatic, guaranteed to play about 10 games all season. Cahill, Vaughan, Yak, Anichibe and Jo are adequate. They could have put that together with the Sky money and bought Elm or Defour. Or do you guys think it's just spurious journalism?
Chris McCullough, Belfast Posted 09/08/2009 at 13:07:39

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Tony Finegan
1 Posted 09/08/2009 at 05:22:39

I've just read that Moyesie has turned down £8M for Saha. I would never slate the manager but £8M for an injury-prone striker??? — sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, sell. Use the money to sort out the right-back position.

Guy Hastings
2 Posted 09/08/2009 at 16:45:01

I think the first seven words of your post should be your guide - though they did have the Pato story which has miffed Chelsea mightily. Apparently.

Nick Parker
3 Posted 09/08/2009 at 12:50:08

Would you take £8M for Saha bearing in mind his injury record and that he has a year left on his contract? I would and then have taken Darren Bent and his big mouth.

Steve Hogan
4 Posted 09/08/2009 at 16:58:32

Chris, do yourself a favour and don’t listen to the utter shite spouted from the tabloids, do you really think ANYBODY in their right mind would offer eight million for a guy who may play 15 games maximum each season?

Christopher McCullough
5 Posted 09/08/2009 at 17:04:36

Steve, I’ll take your advice. However, Moyes commented on it as well. So they have recieved some sort of bid. Propably about £3 million.

Matthew Lovekin
6 Posted 09/08/2009 at 17:00:17

IF it was £8m upfront but I’d be surprised if we turned it down. However, I doubt it was £8m upfront, more likely a small downpayment with add-ons if Saha stayed fit. Anyone who does their homework on Saha wouldn’t be that stupid to pay £8m upfront.

Dennis Stevens
7 Posted 09/08/2009 at 17:11:25

It’s all speculation, of course - so I’ll add my bit too. Maybe Moyes felt it was an offer worth considering, sounded out the player & found him unenthusiastic at the prospect & so rejected the offer from both the club & player’s perspectives. This would be fairly easy for both parties if, as has been suggested, the deal was not attractively structured.

Keith Glazzard
8 Posted 09/08/2009 at 17:36:12

The OS has its version of what has been going on. Murdock’s News of the Screws can say what it likes. If Moyes says there has been a bid, and Saha wants to stay, that’ll do me.

Mark Pendleton
9 Posted 09/08/2009 at 18:26:57

Saha is a match winner and probably a damn good guy to have around and help the young strikers develop. My guess is that Moyes thinks that could mean the difference in finishing a place or two higher and he couldn’t replace that with the cash offered. And good to hear he wanted to stay!

Matt Bone
10 Posted 09/08/2009 at 18:59:27

I’m with you on that one Mark P. Although £8m (if it was £8m) is a good price for an injury-prone 31-year-old, however we have a tiny squad and what does £8m get you as a replacement? Saha knows the team and the club and has the benefit of being around the players last season. PLUS I think it's a good sign Moyes is rewarding his loyalty — You didn't see a certain Mr Owen offering to only accept a wage when he is playing, as Saa did when he joined the club.

Duncan McDine
11 Posted 09/08/2009 at 19:24:07

If Moyes sold Saha after publicly repeating time after time that he’s not interested in selling ANYONE from the 1st team squad, then you could question the manager’s honesty. And the OS have verified that it was indeed a big bid.

For me, that indicates that Lescott won’t be leaving unless he absolutely demands it, and it also means we have a certain amount of money to spend. Let's face it — if we needed to raise funds, there would be no better chance to do so.

Franny Porter
12 Posted 09/08/2009 at 19:52:20

I'm all for us hanging on to our better players, especially Lescott, as I think it sends out a good message.

However, if we were to cash in this Summer with reported bids of £22M for Lescott and £8M for Saha. That would potentially give us £30M to find two replacements. The more I think about it, the more sense it would have made to have accepted these bids. £10M on a centre half and a £20M striker, were getting into Football Manager territory here but it does get you thinking.

I suppose the big question would have been would Moyes have been given all the money?

Chad Schofield
13 Posted 09/08/2009 at 19:50:53

Following on the paper talk... if we’ve said we’d take £6m for 21-year-old Vaughan, then the £8m deal for 31-year-old Saha can’t have been very attractive. Not that we’d ever try to get a "£8m player" without having all the money ring-fenced.

Joeynkoo Ludden
14 Posted 09/08/2009 at 20:22:18

Saha could have a great season this year. Always been quality, scored a few in pre season... keep hold, he should out score Owen.

Keith Glazzard
15 Posted 09/08/2009 at 13:31:56

David Moyes has revealed that a bid of £8m for Louis Saha has been turned down. Turkish club Besiktas have apparently tried to buy our favourite Frenchman. Without knowing the details, but being an optimist, I see much good in this.

Eight million quid would have come in handy for buying a midfielder, full-back or two, and Louis .... well, would we really get a full season out of him? But, according to Moyes, he said he wanted to stay and the club said No Sale. Personally, I am very pleased not only that he is staying - he gets classier by the game - but that he wants to stay. And, of course, that EFC didn't simply cash in their chips. Last point - Moyes is quoted on the OS as saying this. Of course, it is possible in the realm of human imagination, that Davey has been fed duff information. But if he believes it to be true that will do for me.

James Smart
16 Posted 09/08/2009 at 21:45:22

Despite not wanting to be seen as a selling club, I’m still sure that Moyes would sell Saha if £8 million was a real offer. I reckon they’ve cut a deal with Besiktas, asking them to put in a ridiculous bid that gets turned down anyway, to give other clubs the message that nobody’s getting sold this summer, thank you very much...

Alan Clarke
17 Posted 09/08/2009 at 23:03:18

Moyes has actually spoken about rejecting the bid so it’s not lazy journalism. Saha is a liability with his injuries and after each injury it takes him 4 or 5 games to find his form again but Moyes is a strong believer in continuity in his squad. An overhaul of playing staff every year just leads to a Tottenham situation.

Jason Broome
18 Posted 09/08/2009 at 23:21:48

When it comes to integrity, you can’t fault Moyes. The way he sticks to his word and instills belief in his players is inspiring.

If we can add the width and pace we need for our midfield it could well be a another good year.

Jonathan Bradley
19 Posted 09/08/2009 at 23:54:58

£8 million? If they have genuinely bid that for him its probably a good sign, Moyes might have fixed him.

Steve Edwards
20 Posted 10/08/2009 at 00:43:05

Sorry chaps but I’d take 8p to get him off the wage bill. As far as I’m concerned he’s one step up from Shandy Van the Man. Never wanted him when he came and still don’t. Moysey should have snapped their hand off... £8 million for a has-been 31-year-old that he got on a free twelve months ago and he didn’t take it. Now there’s something for the fans to worry about, never mind the lack of players coming in.

Ciaran Duff
21 Posted 10/08/2009 at 01:41:26

This is not just about Saha. It is also about making a statement to the team, the fans and the outside world that Everton are strong loyal unit, continuing to build and will not cash in players for any apparent short term gain. It also emphatically backs up Moyes stance on Lescott.

Tony Rice
22 Posted 10/08/2009 at 03:40:56

Fair enough... but IF Saha is so valuable... perhaps we should get him to sign a new deal NOW while he is feeling so loyal and before we’re left with nothing for him. This is the last year on his contract is it not?

Jamie Crowley
23 Posted 10/08/2009 at 04:26:44

Ciaran’s on the mark.

Moyes believes he has a squad ready to break the Top 4. That’s why he’s emphatically said time and time again, "we’re selling no one."

We keep Saha and keep the team intact. This is sending a huge message. If Moyes sees this through and hold s the team firm through the end of August, we should all be thrilled to bits.

'Course adding a RM or RB couldn’t hurt.

Geoff Edwards
24 Posted 10/08/2009 at 07:25:45

Saha is a hugely important member of the squad.

I can’t be bothered to research the stats (at work now) but off the top of my head I can think of 9 points that Saha’s goals won us last season. Without those points we’d obviously have finished lower in the table.

He also got the winner to get us to the FA Cup semi-final.

Ciarán McGlone
25 Posted 10/08/2009 at 09:06:36

We should have bitten their hands off... but then again — if Saha didn’t want to go, then there’s not much that could’ve been done..

I just hope that Moyes's principles aren’t in danger of getting in the way of business.

John Lloyd
26 Posted 10/08/2009 at 09:09:25

There was a bid of around £1 million, rising to £1.7M(-ish) with add-ons... which I’m pretty sure we’d never have got! Haha

Shocking journalism, as they have literally invented a figure and printed it as fact!! WHY WHY WHY WHY does anyone read newspapers these days?? They are filled with so many lies and any actual truth is yesterday's news. WTF is the point of them???

Ciarán McGlone
27 Posted 10/08/2009 at 10:23:09

John,

Since when is £1mill a ’big bid’?

And accusing the papers of making up a figure — after having made one up yourself — is slightly bewildering.

Steve Callaghan
28 Posted 10/08/2009 at 11:00:56

’According to the News of the World ...’ - says it all really.

Amit Vithlani
29 Posted 10/08/2009 at 12:43:39

I have to disagree with anyone who thinks we should have accepted their offer, even if it was really £8m.

This boy can finish, and he relishes big games. We do not have enough big players in the squad. If he gets 10 goals for us in the coming season and knocks a couple in the big games, he will be well worth keeping.

Someone suggested that we cash in on both him and Lescott and take £30m and use the cash to find replacements. Oh really? If Lescott and Saha are worth £30m then prices for half-decent defenders and forwards will ratchet up accordingly. Its a false economy to suggest we could sell these two and replace them with quality players at less.

As for Darren Bent, don’t make me laugh. He is a terrible finisher. He could not make the grade at Spurs and I believe we have a better team, so why would he cut the mustard with us?

Anthony Doran
30 Posted 10/08/2009 at 13:09:39

£8 million for Saha would be good financial business however, as many have pointed out Saha = Back of the net! He is a very prolific striker and match winner plus he seems a genuine bloke deveouted to the club.

Tom Bowers
31 Posted 10/08/2009 at 14:07:47

The lad is a class striker but we need to get an hours work from him in every game which is not to say he is lazy but he is injury prone. Given freedom from injury I believe that he and Jo given the right amount of service will help keep us in the hunt until the other injured players return but that is a big ask unless Fellaini and Osman improve.

John Lloyd
32 Posted 10/08/2009 at 16:40:41

I see what your saying Ciaron, but my figure isn’t made up. I’m not getting into sources an all that cos I’m not a journalist and i dont have to but that is the figure Besiktas were offering as an initial payment.

I also agree that it doesnt seem a ’big’ bid but the only sketchy part of the info I have is the add ons but I doubt that they would of added up to 8million! Dont you?

IMO whatever Saha would prefer I think if an 8million offer came in for him then I think Moyes would accept it.....just an opinion but one which is shared by almost everyone who has spoken about this story.

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