The Rumour Mill — Spring 2005 (April May & June)
Speculation, conjecture, whisperings, half-truths and outright nonsense. Disclaimer
[Note: most links in this section are to external media/internet sources, where available. 
If the link is recursive (ie, leading back) to this page, it means that no external story exists — Editor].

First game of the season: a derby
19 Jun - Various radio stations have stated that a leak from the FA has confirmed Everton's first game of the 2005-06 season will be against Liverpool.  It is unknown whether the fixture will be at Goodison or Anfield but some reports say Anfield as Everton's first fixture last season was at home.  The fixtures, which are due for release on 23 June, have already been computed and were supposed to be kept quiet.  The FA have not confirmed whether the leak was true or false but, if true, the fixture may be changed... so we may never know! — Liam Gillespie

Another goalie?
19 Jun - Everton will make a bid for Robert Green of Norwich; Richard Wright will be allowed to leave.

Newcastle will get Emre too
19 Jun - Everton's self-imposed salary cap of £34k/wk has been laughed off by Emre and his agent, who will get £50k/wk at Newcastle.

van der Meyde: Toon or Us?
18 Jun - Andy van der Meyde has confirmed he will leave Inter Milan, with Newcastle and Everton once again set to battle it out for his signature.

Swap Bent for Distin?
17 Jun - David Moyes is going to offer Bent and money for Man City's Sylvain Distin.  That's what it says...

£7M for Brondby boys
17 Jun - From The Guardian: Everton have been told to find about £7M by the Danish club Brondby for Johan Elmander and Daniel Agger. Elmander, a 24-year-old Swedish striker once with Feyenoord, scored in the 4-0 win over Esbjerg last month watched by David Moyes. Agger, 20, who has also inter ested Manchester United, made his debut at centre-half for Denmark in a friendly win in Finland on June 2.

Just the merest hint of a link
16 Jun - Everton have supposedly had Strasbourg striker Mamadou Niang "watched".... so what?

Placente to Spain or Italy?
16 Jun - Argentine target Diego Placente seems set on leaving Bayer Leverkusen, but prefers sunnier climes...

Hemdani:
16 Jun - Everton's interest in Rangers' new-boy Brahim Hemdani dates from a year ago, says David Moyes, who quickly decided then that the player would not be right for Everton.

Now Emre wants £60k/wk!!!
16 Jun - Another mercenary may even price himself out of Newcastle's range at this rate!

City want Benty for £1M
15 Jun - Stuart Pearce has made a £1M bid for "out-of-favour" Marcus Bent!

Everton went after Hemdani
14 Jun - Everton tried to sign Marseille captain Brahim Hemdani, according to this link.

Ivan Helguera
14 Jun - Real Madrid's Ivan Helguera is the latest European name to be linked with Everton according to this Icelandic link.

Toon after Emre as well
14 Jun - Newcastle will also try to snatch Belizoglu Emre away from Everton in a £4M tussle for the Turk's signature.

Parker set to sign for Toon
14 Jun - Scott Parker is expected to sign for Newcastle after David Moyes refused to match his inflated £55k/wk salary demand.

Moyes turns attentions to Saha
14 Jun - David Moyes is, according to The Sun, talking to Manchester United about the possibility of signing French striker Louis Saha for £6m.

Moyes talking with Emre
13 Jun - David Moyes has had talks with Turkish midfielder Emre who is expected to leave Inter Milan.

Time for the Johnson link
12 Jun - The WorldFootballers website think David Moyes will now look to sign Andy Johnson of Crystal Palace.

Watson set for WBA
11 Jun - Bryan Robson will end his search for a right back with the acquisition of Steve Watson on a free transfer from Everton according to TeamTalk.

Placente link
10 Jun - Everton are being mentioned as potential suitors of Bayer Leverkusen defender Diego Placente. The Argentine's contract expires next month and has been warned that he may have to take a pay-cut at Leverkusen due to their failure to make the Champions League.

His agent, Vincenzo Morabito, was quoted on the Sky Sports website as saying that Roma are also chasing Placente: "Now there is some interest from Roma," Morabito told Gazetta Dello Sport.

"In order to travel to Rome we must at least reach a principle agreement.

"Diego appreciates the interest of Roma, but if an offer from Everton arrived we could not ignore it.

"With all respect for Roma Everton will play in the Champions League next season."

Arteta deal not dead yet
10 Jun - Real Sociedad are "studying" an offer from Everton to complete the signing of Mikel Arteta.

Are we in for Edu?
10 Jun - Another stupid piece of journalism from the Mirror regarding Brazil's Edu, who is with Celta Vigo.

Forssell to Brum; Parker to Toon
10 Jun - David Moyes's two high-profile transfer targets will go elsewhere today, with Mikael Forssell joining Birmingham City on a play-and-pay deal due to his injury-prone knee, while Scott Parker will sign for Newcastle, who offered him a lot more money than did Everton.

Another Bröndby player linked
9 Jun - According to sources in Sweden, David Moyes is looking at Johan Elmander who currently plays in Denmark with Bröndby.

Latest Name: Benjamin Mwaruwari
7 Jun - Reports in France suggest that both Charlton and Everton are hot on the trail of Auxerre striker Benjamin Mwaruwari.

McFadden staying put
7 Jun - James McFadden will not be tempted by Rangers and a move back to Scotland.

Tottenham join Parker race
7 Jun - Those opportunistic cockney chappies from N17 are hoping to persuade Scott Parker to stay in his beloved London and play for the team he supported as a boy and get some compensation from Chelsea for the poaching of Frank Arnesen at the same time.

Chelsea are accused of what are becoming their usual under-handed tricks and illegally approaching the former White Hart Lane director of football and might prefer to "settle out of court" by selling Parker on the cheap.

Back in for Bellamy???
7 Jun - The tabloids now believe Everton will turn their attention to Craig Bellamy after the deal for Forsell has all but collapsed.

Everton re-adjust Forssell deal
6 Jun - The latest speculation suggests that while Mikael Forssell didn't fail his medical over the weekend, his lack of games since returning from a long-term knee injury means that Everton are erring on the side of caution. They are thought to be re-adjusting their offer initially to a two-year deal and talks with the player will continue later this week after Finland's World Cup qualifier with Holland on Wednesday.

Ferguson-Taylor swap
6 Jun - Duncan Ferguson to Tranmere Rovers with Ryan Taylor coming the other way? Seems a bit far-fetched given the fact that Big Dunc was adamant he would finish his playing career at Goodison but you know. Plus, until Ferguson signs a new contract at Goodison, Everton have no power to offer him to anyone seeing as he is a free agent.

No Parker; No Forssell!!!
6 Jun - Everton cannot match Scott Parker's wage demands, and Mikael Forrsell has failed his Goodison Medical. That's what it says....

Arteta wants £40k per week!
5 Jun - [No Link] According to the Sunday Mirror, the difficulty Everton are having over signing Mikel Arteta is his salary request: £40k puts him well over David Moyes's salary cap.

No interest in Gabbidon
4 Jun - David Moyes has no interest in bringing Donny Gabbidon, Cardiff City captain, to Everton, despite his "young defender" status.

Souness now sniffing out Parker
4 Jun - The odious Graeme Souness will apparently try to hijack the impending transfer fo Scott Parker to Everton, offering the lad plenty of filthy lure to join the barcodes.

Van der Meyde back in the frame
31 Jun - Everton are ready to test Inter Milan's desire to keep Andy van der Meyde by opening re-opening negotiations for the Dutch winger.

Cardiff's Collins linked
31 Jun - Cardiff City defender James Collins is the latest player to be linked with Everton as David Moyes seeks to bolster his aged defence in time for next season. Collins' teammate Danny Gabbidon has been mentioned as a possible Moyes target in recent days as well.

Arsenal looking at Taylor
3 Jun - Arsene Wenger may now be interested in looking at supposed Everton target Ryan Taylor of Tranmere Rovers.

Danny Gabbidon link
2 Jun - Speculation on various Cardiff and Everton message boards suggests that the Blues are set to offer the Welsh side £2.5m for defender Danny Gabbidon.

Forssell to sign on Friday
1 Jun - The Mirror and the Liverpool Echo speculate that Mikael Forssell will fly to Merseyside this Friday to undergo a medical and complete the formalities of his £3m move from Chelsea. The Finn is currently on international duty with his country who play Denmark in a friendly this evening

Local Birmingham radio reports that both Everton and Birmingham City have had bids accepted by the Londoners, so it's now up to the player to decide where he wants to play his football next season.

Mixed Ryan Taylor reports
31 May - Norwich manager Nigel Worthington apparently let it slip that Ryan Taylor will leave Tranmere Rovers to join Everton this summer, but the player himself is believed to have told local radio this afternoon that he has no plans to leave Prenton Park.

Moyes to bid £5M for Bellamy
31 May - [No Link] David Moyes is planning a £5M swoop for bad-boy Craig Bellamy, who has no future at Newcastle, according to the Daily Star.

Everton table Agger bid
30 May - Media sources in Denmark claim that Everton have offered Bronby in the region of £4.5m for the services of 20 year-old central defender Daniel Agger who impressed David Moyes on a recent scouting trip to the Scandinavian country.

Cudicini bid imminent?
28 May - Everton are rumoured to be pondering a move for Chelsea goalkeeper, Carlo Cudicini. The 31 year-old has been kept out of the Champions' first team by ex-Moyes target Peter Cech and with Nigel Martyn coming up for his 39th birthday and Richard Wright looking shaky in the games he played this season, the Blues are looking to add cover between the sticks.

Cudicini would be a popular addition to the Goodison ranks with the fans if chatter on the online forums is anything to go by. If the rumours linking Moyes and the Italian, Scott Parker and Mikael Forssell are true, it would represent a triple-raid on the West London club.

Blues join Hamann chase?
28 May - A worrying report in The Independent suggests that David Moyes will test Bolton Wanderers' desire to sign Liverpool's Dietmar Hamann. The midfielder is out of contract in the summer but, at 31 and £30,000 a week, he doesn't quite fit the Moyes profile.

Watson in demand
28 May - Blackburn, Wigan, Leeds and Sunderland are all interested in signing out-of-contract midfielder, Steve Watson, according to BBC Sport. The 31 year-old has a contract offer from Everton but he is yet to make a decision regarding his future.

£4m bid for Forssell next?
26 May - David Moyes will apparently battle it out with Birmingham and FC Schalke for the services of Finnish attacking midfielder, Mikael Forssell of Chelsea. He has spent two injury-plagued seasons at Birmingham and while they're desperate to keep him, the Blues can at least offer him Champions League football.

Mersey tussle over Johnson
26 May - Everton and Liverpool apparently head the queue for Crystal Palace striker Andy Johnson who is also the target of West Bromwich Albion.

Brondby duo targeted
24 May - Sky Spoorts report that David Moyes is interested in two Danish players currently plying their trade with Brondby. Defender Daniel Agger and midfielder Thomas Kahlenberg apparently caught his eye on a scouting mission to Denmark this past weekend.

Ryan Taylor from Tranmere
23 May - This local rumour may have no basis whatsoever...

Stubbs to quit
23 May - Alan Stubbs will reject Everton's final offer and quit Everton, along with Alessandro Pistone and Steve Watson — so says the notoriously unreliable Alan Nixon in The Mirror

£6M bid for Scott Parker
23 May - That's the news as Davoid Moyes bids to bolster his squad for next season.

Duking it out for Keane
21 May - Everton have apparently registered their interest in Robbie Keane with his agent, but Newcastle are also keen on him. The Irish striker is on holiday but could further negotiations when he returns next week.

And for the umpteenth time...
21 May - ... Everton are linked to Jason Koumas, whom Bryan Robson has clearly given up on.  But is Moysie really interested?

Deportivo defender linked
20 May - Everton and Bolton are interested in Deportivo La Coruna defender Jorge Andrade, according to Planet Football/Sky Sports.

Traore is saying nowt
20 May - You can read anything you want into this non-story about Djimi Traore.

Arteta due to sign
20 May - Mikel Arteta is expected to complete a permanent transfer to Everton for a fee of £2.8M.

Portsmouth want our Ossie
19 May - Portsmouth are keeping a keen eye on Leon Osman, who is known to be seriously unhappy about the derisory offer he has received from Everton.  But Moyes knows best...

Fulham and Rangers chace Nace
19 May - Fulham and Rangers have joined the chase for Gary Naysmith, who is thumbing his nose at Everton's one-year contract offer.

Traore & Konchesky
19 May - That's what the Daily Mirror would have us believe...

Moyes ready to raid market
19 May - The headline says it all, but there is little of substance in here, other than the name of Celtic's Stilian Pretrov.

Time to start the bidding...
17 May - Reading's Steve Sidwell could be the first of the transfers David Moyes chalks up during the summer.

Olivier Thomert
17 May - Player: Olivier Thomert; Club: Lens; Source: FansFC; Destination: Everton; Likelihood: Minimal

Pistone off Home
15 May - Alessandro Pistone is heading back to Italy - despite Everton's qualification for the Champions League. The out-of-contract full-back is being offered a lucrative deal with Serie A club Lecce.

Remember Sean Doherty?
15 May - ADO Den Haag (The Hague, Netherlands) is giving Sean Doherty a chance to earn a contract. The English winger is currently on trial at the club, although still under contract with Fulham after arriving from Everton in 2001. The former England youth player has never been able to make into the first team at Fulham. During his time at Fulham he has been loaned to Blackpool, though only making reserve appearances for the club.

Moyes resurrects Simic interest
14 May - David Moyes has reportedly been in Milan chasing a couple of Inter players, but the latest speculation suggests he might raid neighbours AC Milan for Croatian defender Dario Simic whom he apparently tried to sign in January.

Stephen Appiah
14 May - The latest name on the speculator's list is Ghanaian midfielder Stephen Appiah of Juventus.

You don't need £10m...
14 May - ...to sign a £10m player. The S*n suggest that Scott Parker could be loaned out by Chelsea for the duration of next season, with Everton and Birmingham (hmm, now which would you choose?) supposedly leading the chase.

Jason frickin' Koumas
13 May - Could he just sign for someone else so the annual rumours linking him with Everton will stop?!

Lens striker eyed
11 May - 25 year-old Olivier Thomert, whom Spurs tried to sign last summer (is there a player on planet earth that Tottenham haven't tried to buy?) is a target of David Moyes according to PlanetFootball/Sky Sports.

Get used to the name
9 May - Scott Parker is going to be a very familiar name in connection with Everton this summer. The ex-Charlton midfielder was on the fringes of the Chelsea set-up before succumbing to long-term injury this season and Everton's qualification for the Champions League means that the media will see them as ideal suitors for him.

The S*n speculate as such here.

The general consensus seems to be, however, that Parker wants to stay with Chelsea and, if not, stay in the southeast where has just purchased a £2.9m house in the Cobham area of Surrey, close to other nouveax riches of the Chelsea squad.

Moyes keen on Laquait?
9 May - Everton are believed to be interested in signing French goalkeeper Bertrand Lacquait. The 28 year-old reportedly came to David Moyes's attention while Everton representatives were discussing a possible partnership with Belgian club Charleroi with whom Lacquait is currently plying his trade.

Maciej Zurawski
9 May - The Polish international, who currently plays for Wisla Krakow, has been linked with Everton following the Blues' qualification for the Champions League.

Leeds interest in defensive duo?
19 Apr - Agent Jim McArthur gets to work securing new clubs (or new deals at Everton) for both David Weir and Gary Naysmith.

Bellamy Goodison-bound?
16 Apr - The Daily Record are suggesting that David Moyes plans to hijack any attempts by the Hoops to sign on-loan Newcastle United striker Craig Bellamy.

Rene out da hause?
14 Apr - Everton, 'Boro and Fulham are, apparently, all chasing Grazer AK midfielder Rene Aufhauser, one of Austria's most promising players.

His agent is reported as saying: "I have already had talks with both Everton and Fulham.

"There is also interest from two Italian and one German club, but Rene has told me of his desire to play in the Premier League.

"Playing there is a big ambition of his and it would be a great move for him.

"We will meet with Middlesbrough this week and I expect a decision on Rene's future in ten days to two weeks - as Everton and Fulham should make their decisions by then."

Papa Bouba Diop
14 Apr - Fulham's Senegalese midfielder has caught the eye of a number of top clubs and Everton have been linked with a £5m swoop this summer.

Everton track Moutinho
12 Apr - No, MouTinho! As in Sporting Lisbon's defensive midfielder, Joao Moutinho. The 18 year-old is also apparently being watched by Tottenham (of course!), Aston Villa and Liverpool.

Keane heading for Goodison?
6 Apr - Robbie Keane is being tipped for a move from Spours to Everton after falling out with Martin Jol over his substitution decision recently.

Gravedigger back in the summer?
3 Apr - The News of the World (and later the Liverpool Echo suggest that Thomas Gravesen will return to Goodison in the summer from Real Madrid. The Dane has, we're told, extended the lease on his penthouse in Beetham Plaza.

Summer rumours
1 Apr - Scott Parker coming to Goodison come what may? Tomas Rosicky a target? So says TW reader Lee Bloom after a little chat with Richard Wright the other day.

It's amazing that we have to append a caveat to this page but...
Please note: This is a rumours page and features just that — rumours; stories we have read, heard or that have been passed on to us. Please bear in mind that we make no claims of their veracity and that most of them turn out to be completely untrue.