Everton ready to turn to Smith

Jul 20 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

UNLUCKY James Vaughan latest injury misery could re-ignite Everton’s interest in Manchester United striker Alan Smith.

Vaughan underwent a scan and visited a specialist yesterday to discover whether he requires surgery on the dislocated shoulder suffered during the friendly at Preston North End on Wednesday.

The results are expected later today, with Everton bracing themselves for the news the desperately unfortunate striker will be sidelined for at least three months.

Should that be confirmed, it would most likely force David Moyes to dip into the transfer market to strengthen his striking resources given Everton’s extra workload in the UEFA Cup this season.

And that may mean refocusing their energies on Smith, who was effectively given permission yesterday by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to leave Old Trafford.

Any move could cost up to £5million, with Smith having rejected a move to Middlesbrough for a similar fee earlier this summer.

Smith will find himself surplus to requirements at United when they eventually complete their controversial move for West Ham United forward Carlos Tevez.

And Ferguson said: “There is no doubt Alan did fantastically well for us when he came back last season.

“He gave the team a spiritual lift and because he is such a fighter, he was an inspiration to us. But he is 26 now and he wants regular football.

“I have to look at Manchester United in terms of how do we improve to get better. And when someone like Tevez comes along, it makes it difficult for people like Alan in particular.

“The most important thing is that they are our players and we can make decisions when we like.”

Everton touched down in Salt Lake City late last night to start their 10-day stay in the United States with talks over the prospective deals for Johann Vogel and Steven Pienaar still ongoing.

Vogel will only be allowed to make his desired move to Goodison once he has reached a settlement with Real Betis, while the La Liga outfit having again hinted they want to be compensated for the player’s exit.

Everton are under the impression the 30-year-old Switzerland midfielder is available on a free transfer, but Betis president Manuel Ruiz de Lopera now claims the Spaniards will have the final say on Vogel’s destination.

“He is transferable and there are options for him to go to another club,” said de Lopera. “We have requests for him, everyone would like to loan him – but we want to sell.

“Betis cannot be held to

ransom, his representatives say he does not want to move to a club he does not like – but he cannot choose because he has a written contract and will go where Betis says.”

South African attacking midfielder Pienaar, meanwhile, would arrive on a season-long loan from Borussia Dortmund with a view to a permanent move.

And Goodison assistant manager Alan Irvine believes that being on the other side of the world will not prevent Everton from continuing their transfer business.

“We’ve been looking very hard, but apart from Phil Jagielka it’s not happened yet,” said Irvine. “We’re trying very hard to bring in the right players and there’s no reason why we can’t do deals while we’re in America.

“There’s a real chance of that, you can communicate from anywhere these days. You can also get anywhere quickly.

“It’s quite a long way away but we’re not so far away that we can’t do some work by phone or even come back if necessary.”