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Martinez: Everton threat to United scuppered Cleverley deal

Tom Cleverley signed on loan for Aston Villa on deadline day © Getty Images

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Roberto Martinez has claimed Everton's threat to Manchester United was a factor in the Old Trafford club's refusal to loan him Tom Cleverley on transfer deadline day.

The Everton manager revealed he made a late move to sign the out-of-favour Cleverley, but the two clubs failed to agree terms as United held out for a permanent move for the midfielder.

Cleverley eventually joined Aston Villa on a season-long loan, with the Premier League sanctioning a deal after the September 1 deadline. But Martinez said Everton were never given the option to return with a better offer, claiming that his side's rise above United in the table last season could have influenced proceedings.

"It's the parent club that makes that decision," Martinez said. "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.

"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. But, at the same time, Aston Villa have started the season really well and you look at the performances of Fabian Delph and the young players they have, plus they've got Christian Benteke coming back, and they are going to be a strong team. But we can't comment on that, it is down to Manchester United."

Relations between the two clubs were strained last summer after United's pursuit of Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines, with the former eventually moving to Old Trafford in a £27.5 million deal.

"I don't think there is any bad feeling between the clubs," Martinez said. "The chairman 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."

There was mixed news for Martinez in terms of his current playing staff, with striker Romelu Lukaku expected to recover from a toe injury that forced him to miss Belgium's friendly against Australia last week.

However midfielder Leon Osman, who has a calf injury, and forward Samuel Eto'o, who is struggling with a groin problem sustained in scoring on his debut against Chelsea, face late fitness tests.

Bryan Oviedo and Arouna Kone both featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly during the international break, but neither are match fit yet as they recover from long-term injuries. Oviedo broke his leg in January and Kone suffered knee ligament damage last October.

Meanwhile, midfielder Steven Pienaar is back in training after suffering a groin injury during the 2-2 draw with Arsenal in August.

England midfielder Ross Barkley is ahead of schedule in his recovery from the knee injury he sustained in training in August, and could be back as early as October.

"Ross is progressing well, but he's still receiving treatment," Martinez added. "He's in week four of his recovery now. He's probably a couple of weeks ahead of where he should be, but he's still only halfway through his recovery period."

Everton visit West Brom looking to tighten up a defence that has conceded 10 goals in their opening three league games.

Defenders Phil Jagielka, 32, and Sylvain Distin, 36, struggled badly in the 6-3 home defeat against Chelsea, but Martinez insists that age is not an issue for his defenders.

"Age is never a problem," Martinez said. "Experience is always a positive thing. When you've got a player who, for whatever reason, cannot reach the levels required, it's not down to age.

"Every player has a different age at which the legs start to go. That's not the case with any of our players at all.

"Our attacking play has improved from last season. Scoring the two goals from open play that we got against Chelsea shows how we are developing into a really strong team going forward.

"It's quite easy to see that we've been a little bit slack in our defensive duties and we've been punished too easily. We've conceded too many easy goals.

"It's something that we need to correct, but I do see a team who have improved from where we were last season, even if the results are not as good as they should have been."

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