Martinez hints at Manchester United's reluctance to loan Cleverley to rival club

, 12 September, 35comments  |  Jump to most recent
Roberto Martinez has made his first public comments regarding his attempt to draft Tom Cleverley in on the final day of the transfer window where he indicates that Everton were told the midfielder was not available on loan.

The 24-year-old midfielder eventually made a deadline-beating season-long loan move to Aston Villa and Martinez believes that Manchester United were reluctant to loan him to a rival club.

"I am a big admirer of Tom," the Catalan said yesterday. "That was an opportunity that we explored on the last day of the window but it couldn't happen for different reasons. I don't think there was just one aspect.

"It's the parent club that makes that decision. Maybe they just didn't want to send a player on loan to a club that is going to be challenging for things and finished above them last season, I don't know."

There have been suggestions that one of the reasons for United's refusal to do a deal with Everton was due to lingering bad blood between the two clubs after the Old Trafford club's pursuit last summer of Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines.

Martinez brushed off those assertions, however, saying: "I don't think there is any bad feeling between the clubs. [Bill Kenwright] has a very good relationship with Manchester United and, as a football club, we are not carrying any sour grapes about anything.

"Our information was that the player wasn't available on loan, full stop. You can look at the table from last season and we finished fifth and they finished a bit lower, so from that respect you can understand.

"A situation with Cleverley came up that I was happy to explore. In the end it didn't work out."

 

Reader Comments (35)

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Peter Murray
1 Posted 12/09/2014 at 07:35:47
Take it as a compliment. They are currently talking about a "top three" finish. So they must see us as a very serious threat.
Ste McCoombe
2 Posted 12/09/2014 at 07:50:46
Lucky escape!
Phil Sammon
3 Posted 12/09/2014 at 07:59:48
Not at all Ste. I I think he would have been a good player for us.

Arteta and Pienaar are two examples of quality young players who lost their way. Cleverley was quality at Wigan and I think he could achieve his early potential if given the chance.

James Richard
4 Posted 12/09/2014 at 08:38:32
Not sure about that, Roberto, considering they just sold Welbeck to Arsenal. So do Man Utd not see Arsenal as a rival club?
Simon Smith
5 Posted 12/09/2014 at 08:40:37
Hands up all those that thought the only reason the deal didn't go through was because Man Utd are still ticked off with us over last season and that OFM was a bit of a dud for them!

We will wait and pick him up on a free at the end of the season, that's all.

Tim Locke
6 Posted 12/09/2014 at 08:31:37
Hoping that this is the first step in bring him in next season on a free. Would be a great addition and def add depth to the squad.

On a general note on loans, last season we became the club highlighted for our loans and how it had helped us take a step up. This wouldn't have gone unnoticed by other clubs so no surprised the loans have been reduced with only chelski playing, but no surprise there with there new policy to get round fair play. Buy cheaper, play/loan out and sell for a profit.

Shane Corcoran
7 Posted 12/09/2014 at 08:38:05
I find this a little mischievous on Martinez's part.
Jon Withey
8 Posted 12/09/2014 at 08:54:03
To be fair, James, he did say loan - not sell - so Welbeck was a different situation.

I'm guessing they just couldn't get the money they wanted from us. Aston Villa had already offered a lot.

MIke McLean
9 Posted 12/09/2014 at 09:22:57
It seems Kenwright is on good terms with everyone. Lovely.

There’ll be a niggle at the back of Woodward’s mind about the Fellaini / Baines affair and there’ll be more than a niggle in the back of Bill’s mind about Ferguson’s book. As much as Bill makes me despair, he had the buggers over a barrel and must quietly think to himself, "He who laughs last ..."

As to Cleverly, it strikes me he’s one of the arm-around-the-shoulder players and Don Roberto is the type who will and did get the best out of him.

James Stewart
10 Posted 12/09/2014 at 11:26:51
I am not surprised other EPL clubs don’t want to loan us players. Why should they? Chelsea play ball because they know we will take points off their title rivals. If we loaned a player to Man Utd and he started playing well, we would all be furious on here. Cleverly has never impressed so can’t say I mind much about that deal.
Alan Humphreys
11 Posted 12/09/2014 at 12:05:17
He's a free agent next year anyway I believe. Which means come January he can talk to us at his leisure – hopefully by then we'll have Besic bedded in.
Tony J Williams
12 Posted 12/09/2014 at 12:13:01
Don't like him, his hairstyle bothers me!
Simon Smith
13 Posted 12/09/2014 at 12:43:21
Tony, when he starts to play football with his hair, it will worry me... but, until then, chill.
Tony J Williams
14 Posted 12/09/2014 at 12:50:00
Simon, I am allowed to be as irrational as I choose to be.

Cheers

Ste McCoombe
15 Posted 12/09/2014 at 13:23:45
As someone who lives and works in Manchester, all Utd fans I know are delighted he's gone. No thanks. Villa can keep him.
Matt Traynor
17 Posted 12/09/2014 at 13:28:52
Alan (#11), we can't talk to him in January, same as we couldn't with Barry. He can only talk to foreign clubs in January.
Denis Richardson
18 Posted 12/09/2014 at 13:19:33
Man Utd didn't want to loan him out because they wanted to get rid of him for good and bank some cash. All this stuff about not loaning to a rival is bollocks (Welbeck?).

In the end they had no choice but to loan him on deadline day as no other club was willing to shell out £8m for him, or whatever the price was.

I for one am over the moon we didn't get him as he's completely average and wouldn't increase the quality of the squad. We've just spent the last year clearing out a ton of deadwood in the squad, it's too soon to start adding more.

Also, how many midfielders do we need ffs?? We have; Barry, Besic, McCarthy, Gibbo, Pienaar, Osman, Barkley, McGeady, Mirallas and even Oviedo can do a job in midfield. So that's at least TEN! IF we're going to sign another one, at least make it a quality creative attacking midfielder who can open up defences, not another average body just to 'beef up the squad'. If 10 still isn't enough(!), then give some of the youngsters a few mins here and there.

I feel quite strongly here. I just don't rate Cleverly at all and feel we dodged a bullet.

Peter Morris
19 Posted 12/09/2014 at 13:51:44
To be fair if the lad/Villa have a half decent season, he is likely to exhaust negotiating a permanent move to them first-the honourable thing to do, as per Gareth Barry. If Villa have a decent season, but he is crap, well, they might go cold and why would we want him? Now, if Villa have a crap season, but he has a good one, we'll be in the mix, but only if we have a good season... get it?
Andy Meighan
20 Posted 12/09/2014 at 14:01:45
Peter (#19). No.
Sean Patton
21 Posted 12/09/2014 at 14:04:21
I must say I am loving these little digs at Man Utd; it looks like the so-called "special relationship" is over. My, how the worm has turned.
Matt Traynor
22 Posted 12/09/2014 at 13:59:08
The Premier League held a twitter Q&A with him, via Aston Villa's twitter account.

Not the smartest idea

Andrew Ellams
23 Posted 12/09/2014 at 14:22:01
Matt, that is quite funny!
Nigel Gregson
24 Posted 12/09/2014 at 14:20:16
Nothing wrong with Man Utd not wanting to strengthen us (at least on the cheaper loan option), as a key rival. We'll get him on a free with lower wages next year and hopefully by then Osman will have retired to free up the wages. (I'd still have Tom over Leon no matter how maligned he is.)
Dan Parker
25 Posted 12/09/2014 at 14:33:30
It's a sign of the times. In the past Manure wouldn't consider us a genuine rival but we're right in there with them now in the fight for the top 4. Or we will be when we start winning!
Andrew Hawes
26 Posted 12/09/2014 at 14:35:16
Absolutely love this; basically Roberto has said that Man Utd won’t loan us players as we are now a step above them and in direct competition!! Classic!!

How refreshing from the days of Ferguson loaning us his cast-offs with patronising remarks.

Our season starts tomorrow. We now need a run of results to get us in and around the top 6.

Mike Childs
27 Posted 12/09/2014 at 17:23:28
Thanks for sharing that pointer Matt. My favorite was "Hi Tom, what's it like robbing for a living?"
Shane Corcoran
28 Posted 12/09/2014 at 18:06:59
Maybe I'm getting old and boring but people going on Twitter to slag someone off seem like dicks.
Pete Owen
29 Posted 12/09/2014 at 20:53:13
Shane :@28
I totally agree, absolute dicks. Name-calling and verbally abusing someone who has a better job than them, and is far better at his job than they could ever be... pathetic.

I don't see a future for Tom at our club, but I wouldn't call him a poor player, the lad has obvious talent.

And as for all the people here getting on Osman's back, have you all forgotten his loyal service for the club? Have you all forgotten the great goals and assists he provided? You know it wasn't so long ago that most people here said he fully deserved his England call up and that it was long overdue, and he shall have many more to come!
Sigh... some people seem to lose all sense of perspective.

Andy Meighan
30 Posted 12/09/2014 at 21:09:07
I think Martinez’s comments maybe a bit tongue in cheek as regards Man Utd... but I also think he’s got quite an obsession with Cleverley, à la Rodgers with Joe Allen, they obviously have loved working with these particular players and must see something in them us fans can’t.

Me personally, I don’t get it myself. What I’ve seen of him, I honestly don’t rate him. But, to be honest, I haven’t seen that much. I’ll bet there’s fans of other clubs who love Osman but he gets his fair share of criticism on this site and god knows why.

But, as myself and many before have said: It’s all about opinions!

Andrew James
31 Posted 12/09/2014 at 21:18:11
Although funny, it does not reflect well on Man Utd "fans". They destroyed our own Darron Gibson on Twitter (forgive me if I am wrong and it was Danny Simpson) whilst he was still playing for them.

With "fans" like that, who needs the fans of your opposition?!

Ian Bennett
32 Posted 12/09/2014 at 21:29:20
I'd welcome him on a free.
Kieran Riding
33 Posted 12/09/2014 at 21:59:09
Shane Duffy made himself look a tit on Twitter, remember.

And a 35-year-old Everton player went over to his own fans last season offering someone out over Twitter "Bantz".

Just saying like.

Raymond Fox
34 Posted 12/09/2014 at 21:48:07
Let's face it, a good percentage of fans wouldn't recognise a good footballer if they fell over one.

So I wouldn't lose any sleep if I was Cleverley, Ferguson seemed to think he was decent and Martinez obviously does.

Kieran Riding
36 Posted 12/09/2014 at 22:11:38
Raymond, the lad was desperate to join us.

I'm confident he will join us, on a free, in the summer.

Dan Brierley
37 Posted 13/09/2014 at 11:28:57
Cleverley & Besic when playing at home, McCarthy & Barry when playing away. And able to interchange between defensive and creative when needed. Sounds pretty good to me.

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