Midfielder drove to training ground to make request in
person as 11pm deadline neared - and agreement was finally struck at
10.55pm
Marouane Fellaini delivered a transfer request in person to Everton
as he successfully made a last-ditch attempt to force through a
£27million move to Manchester United.
Belgium international Fellaini drove to
the Toffees’
training ground at 7.30pm to speak personally to manager Roberto
Martinez, and plead with him to sanction the switch to Old Trafford he
has craved all summer.
Fellaini had grown increasingly frustrated on Monday afternoon after talks between the two clubs turned fractious, with
champions United reluctant to increase their offer from early in the day of around £23million.
The
Mirror can reveal Fellaini finally got his wish just five minutes
before the transfer window slammed shut, when United made a FOURTH offer
for the midfielder on a dramatic deadline day.
Incredibly, the champions could have signed Fellaini barely a month ago for £4m LESS than the fee they will now pay.
But
after a desperate day in the transfer market, United were forced to
swallow their pride and bid well over the figure that Fellaini had
written into his contract as a release clause, until it expired at the
beginning of August.
United bid the release clause figure of
£23.5m early on Monday, but were immediately knocked back by Everton
chairman Bill Kenwright, who remained steadfast in his insistence they
would have to pay a premium on that clause.
Boss David Moyes then began to look elsewhere, but when
his proposed move for Athletic Bilbao star Ander Hererra collapsed, United returned with the SAME bid at 10.07pm, plus some complicated add-ons.
That too was rejected, as was a third bid at 10.35pm.
But
with time running out, former Everton manager Moyes insisted his new
club make one more bid, which arrived at 10.45pm, and was finally
accepted by the Scot's previous employers at 10.55pm - leaving barely
seconds to complete the paperwork.
The deal comes as something as
a triumph for Everton - had they not completed the transfer, Fellaini
would have been entitled to leave for £23.5m in January, when the clause
would have kicked back in again.
And it capped a successful day
in the transfer market overall for the Goodison club, who also completed
the capture of James McCarthy from Wigan, along with loan deals for
both Romelu Lukaku and Gareth Barry.
Everton have also agreed a
deal to sell Victor Anichebe to West Brom for £6m, though they must wait
to see if the paperwork was completed in time, with the Premier League
due to rule on Tuesday morning.
Fellaini's transfer request
means he will miss out on any bonus payments due from the deal, but his
patience cracked late Monday afternoon, when he made clear he didn't
want to play for the club any more.
That persuaded Everton to
find a replacement, and they did that when Wigan chief Dave Whelan
accepted an offer for McCarthy at 10.50pm, when he backed down and
agreed to a £12m deal spread over four years.
Lukaku also agreed
to a loan move that will cost the Blues £3m in total, despite a late
attempt to hijack the transfer by West Brom, where the Belgian starred
on loan last season.
The Toffees will also take Barry on loan for
the season, and will have the chance to sign him for free at the end of
the term because he has just one year left on his City contract.
Everton and City will split the England midfielder's salary, with both clubs contributing around £60,000 a week each.
Earlier
in the day, the Goodison club had made a move for Porto's Brazilian
midfielder Fernando, and even applied for a work permit, but the deal
was always viewed as a back-up plan.
While Everton were left
celebrating their final frantic few minutes of the window, United were
less happy, after being forced to pay considerably more for Fellaini
than they could have paid for him in July.
Questions will be asked by their fans this morning.
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