IN-DEPTH NEWS

Another Transfer Deadline Approaches

By Lyndon Lloyd : 31 Aug 2007

Juan Roman Riquelme: The rumour that refuses to die
The summer transfer silly season winds down today as the midnight deadline for player acquisitions approaches.

Five days ago, David Moyes was no doubt comfortable in the knowledge that his window shopping was done until January but the sudden defection of Manuel Fernandes to Valencia has had the Everton boss scrambling to bolster his midfield ahead of his side's Uefa Cup campaign which begins in less than a month.

Indeed, amongst the excitement — or potential lack thereof — of transfer deadline day, Blues fans will also have their eyes on the draw for the First Round of that competition. Everton will be one of 40 seeded teams in the draw.

With Thomas Gravesen's surprise return to Goodison Park already in the bag and Yakubu's record-breaking move completed, attention now shifts to whether or not Moyes will try and add that elusive midfield dynamo which would round out what is now an impressive squad.

Realistic speculation is centering around Johann Vogel, Papa Bouba Diop, Kevin Nolan and Stephen Appiah, with the Daily Mail throwing some fuel on the fire of Evertonian hopes with a report that Juan Roman Riquelme is jetting in for talks over a potential loan move from Villarreal.

Vogel is deemed highly unlikely. Locked in a dispute with Real Betis over his contract status, the Swiss midfielder has been off Everton's radar ever since the Spanish side demanded £1m for his services earlier this summer. Having been led to believe he was available for free, Moyes said no.

Kevin Nolan has long been linked with the Blues but seems content at Bolton and with Evertonians cool on the prospect of adding him to an already one-dimensional midfield, it's unlikely that Moyes would splash out £5m for his services.

Diop, out of favour at Fulham, would seem to fall into the same category but Appiah, an unsung hero of Ghana's World Cup exploits alongside Michael Essien last year, would be a tremendous acquisition, particularly at £5m - £6m.

Nicknamed the Black Tornado, the midfielder is currently out with a knee injury but with Gravesen in reserve, Moyes may feel comfortable making a move... assuming of course the speculation is even correct. The Guardian speculate that the Blues' interest in Appiah may have come too late to complete negotiations with both the player and Fenerbahce, complete a medical and file for registrations before midnight.

Which, of course, leads to Riquelme, the subject of one of the most unlikely yet persistent rumours of the summer. The prospect of the Argentine playmaker grew legs out of an internet-based rumour a couple of months ago and was thrown into the national domain when placeholder text on a test page on Everton's official site reported that the club had signed him from Villarreal.

With Riquelme unsettled at Villarreal, where he has fallen out with the manager, an incident that prompted him to spend much of last season on loan at Boca Juniors, and with doubts increasing over a move to Athletic Madrid [link is in Spanish but the gist is that it's increasingly unlikely that the two clubs will come to an agreement], the report in today's Mail is sure to set tongues wagging in the last few hours of the transfer window.

Stranger things have happened but Blues fans would do well not to hold their breath.

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