Everton launch bid for Oviedo

Everton hope to complete a £5m deal for Costa Rica international Bryan Oviedo before Friday's transfer deadline.

Manager David Moyes has watched the versatile FC Copenhagen player and Everton are now favourites to beat off competition from West Bromwich Albion.

The Danes are resigned to losing Oviedo, 22, after failing to qualify for the Champions League group stage.

Oviedo, who can play on the left side of defence and in midfield, is entering the final year of his contract.

even if we didnt have Baines I couldnt see from his Wiki CV that he is worth 5m... I mean .. wasnt Buttner 4m.

If you are talking about necessity then I agree, but if it is a tactical suggestion then it ranks with the idea of moving Pienaar to defensive midfield to accommodate Mirallas and Fellaini.

by Rob Parrish 3:32 PM

Just need Moutinho and M'vila in now as cover for Fella and Gibbo...

Oviedo? - it has to be a case of 'In Moyes We Trust' for me. A Costa Rican who can defend or play mf in Europe already? Sounds good, obviously not at any price (like Pienaar) but old blue eyes isn't known for throwing money away.

Except there was that Belgian lad he paid a fortune for a few years ago now.

Holtby would be fantastic. A longshot but I think worth putting all our resources into.

Yours and mine mate (MCFC mates..) Now they have signed Richard Wright....my, they are scraping the barrel!

I believe he was part of the Costa Rica side that nearly won the U-20 World Cup a few years ago.

Not sure what that says for the futures of Gueye and Garbutt though...

Si, Pienaar does have a tendency to move inside which makes you think that is where he'd prefer to play,and as he gets older it may be where he'll end up. But his partnership with Baines is too good to break up right now, unless Oviedo can do as well as Pienaar,and as has been mentioned above, Pienaar may well be off to the AFCON Cup. It's just another illustration of Moyes tendency to buy players adept at playing in more than one position, which is no bad thing. I just hope it's not because Baines will be leaving...

Don't know about his financial worth but for sure he'd bust his ass for the team. Not many Costa Ricans make it to the big time.

Moyes used to go for foreign players who could speak English (quite wisely) but perhaps has now realised they can't understand him anyway, so he's just going by forename.

Mike - it is said (by a Spanish mate of mine, after the second trajo, I have to say) that we should all pack up and go to live in Costa Rica. Any more knowledge to impart as I can't remember why.

I don't know anything about this Oviedo character. A left-back doesn't really interest me. Surely we need a backup striker more. Anichebe is the most lethargic man on the planet. Added to that, he has no footballing ability.

His main position is on the left (fullback) Cant se him on the right back for us, in the Copenhagen squad the right back is played by a former blue Lars Jacobsen. Copenhagen has already bought a replacement for Oviedo so I think he is coming, hope Moyes get the best out of him, he can also do a job in the left midfield position.

Ridiculous statement. "Anichebe is the most lethargic man on the planet."

You clearly haven't seen me on a Sunday morning.

As for the World Cup and the Euros they have been blown out of the water by the Champions League, although he Euros was/is a good tournament. Very difficult to get an international team playing cohesively, they spend so little time together and the players are normally crippled with tension in major tournaments.

In some ways its the ultimate managerial test. Attempting to fashion a functioning football team/squad out of a group of 22 individuals that you only get together so often, getting through qualification and peaking for a tournament. Far from easy.

Still doesnt make it interesting though, because its so often fragmented and a work in progress. The friendlies are just tarted up training sessions where the manager is having a look at what works and what doesnt.

The last World Cup, South Africa, was abysmal. The worst in my lifetime and I stopped watching at the quarters. I was watching a Dutch game and, as all the games had been, it was terrible and I switched it off and didnt bother with the rest of the tournament.

I couldnt take any more it was boring the living shit out of me.

Oh for an Argentina 78 or an Espana 82. Or even an Italia 90!

Perhaps I'm just looking forward to future references to 'The Life of Brian'.

More later?

Even worse is when you hear somebody who cannot pronounce their r's say the word as Bwian. It kind of sounds all nerdy and then of course the name Brian has become something of a euphamism for the cliched side of football after Brian Moore and Brian Clough sat in ITV commentary boxes for many years spouting gibberish.

In fact, Kevin Keegan's famous ( as David Batty ran up to take the deciding penalty in an England penalty shoot out ) pronouncement of , '' I know he's going to score this, Brian, I just know he is! '' as Batty ran up and blazed it wide will live with me forever as one of those comedy moments only football can conjure up.

Apologies to all Brians and Bryans out there - no offence intended honestly.

Strengthening a squad on a budget is something our manager knows a lot about. A couple of years back he might have wished he had 20 Phil Nevilles. He seems to have moved on.

I really admire Cap'n Pip, but 'Man of the moment'? A man for all seasons yes, but Fellaini, Pienaar, Jelavic (just getting going), Gibson, Baines, Niasmith and now Mirallas looking good have to have a shout don't they? And that's just the players going forward! Three of the best CB's in the Prem to choose from, plus Hibbo of course. And you pick out Neville. I think even he would be embarassed.

But you can't go around taking any notice of what others say or don't say. If Jelavic has a shite game, standing on the half way line a la Saha, I'll see it and say so. No excuses. And, of course, you're quite right to stick to your guns over Neville. But I suspect that if we got a chance to talk to him about his role he would say he was a small cog in a very well oiled machine. Ferraris and RR's need these bits too, we might add.

I would though, just for one season go into it knowing that our right was as strong as our left. This has been the best start to a season so I am not taking anything away but could we just for once focus on the right back position. It gets so much attention from us here on the site but seemingly none from the management.

Seriously, what has it been, 5, 6, 7 years we've been talking about the right side of the team without much improvement???

Think you may be overanalysing this one. All John seems to be saying is that Neville has been his stand-out player lately. Fair enough if you ask me.

I don't know who I'd pick though. Ossie and Naismith were excellent again last night. I'm really impressed with how mobile and technical Naismith is. I was expecting more of a squad player when we signed him. Another Moyesy bargain perhaps

Hopefully, with us potentially finishing higher up the table, maybe the need to sell may be behind us??? Lets hope

Thanks for re-visiting (yet another) bad England memory I'd tried to banish...

I think Brian Moore stitched him up good & proper there.

Moore: "David Batty, who's never scored for England, 34 caps... You know him well Kevin, do you back him to score, quickly, yes or no..?"

Keegan: ''Yes!"

Both: "NO..!!"

(Cut to Hoddle's gormless, wheelchair-hating face...)

Maybe Gueye is lining up to take Pienaars slot in time, but, if we can also bring through a decent left sided player who can cover Baines, Garbutt, Pienaar and Gueye between now and 2016ish for a few mil sounds like a solid plan to me.

I actually think we will get one if not two more players in, and I hope that they come in order of:

A spare striker, Berbatov would have been fine, he is a carbon copy of Jelavic, surely we can pay bigger wages than Fulham!
A right back, a younger player 20-24 so they are ready to play, and are able to learn off Neville and Hibbo;
A central midfielder in the Gibson mould, when he went off against Villa, it left a lot to be desired.

That's the cue for the whole crowd to shout, in perfect unison...

'WELEASE BWIAN!'

Everton fans asking about midfield player - Blackburn's Nzonzi on the list but two or three names in the frame if that doesn't happen.

And I totally agree with you about Naismith (what are we going to call him? Smithy?) As I said, he looks like he's played for us for ages - just settled in like he was born to it. A great prospect indeed.

John Armstrong - I guess you're responding to my earlier post @344

"Perhaps I'm just looking forward to future references to 'The Life of Brian'."

We shouldn't really start this until he's in the Royal Blue Jersey, but what about

'He's not the Messi, he's just a very nifty boy'?

I'll get me caot.

Given our improvements since January, no EPL manager is seeing EFC as a place they can get a player some game time with no harm done. They see us, rightly, as a threat to final position.

Gibson for a half-mil. Jesus! Those days are over.

Ray #397, yes I think you're missing something as Jamie #402 pointeed out.

A good player to bring in for that price, but my guess is that he will be sold againg in a couple of years without having played more than 5-8 games for the Blues.

Hope you can understand and read my English — if not, kan vi gøre det pÃ¥ dansk I stedet for ;)

COYB

And Ulrik – nice to know that I'm not the only Evertonian in Denmark. :-)

If Moyes sees a player who'll make the squad better now, he has to try to sign him.

I don't understand this 'not signing anyone to give youth a chance'. If they are good enough we wouldn't have to sign anyone.

Oviedo is only 22 anyway.