Baines inches towards Everton move

Aug 1 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

Leighton Baines watches from the crowd at Goodison _158

LEIGHTON BAINES last night moved a step nearer to joining Everton from Wigan Athletic – as Tim Cahill handed David Moyes an injury scare.

Talks are ongoing between the clubs after the Goodison outfit lodged an improved offer for Baines.

The bid is believed to be nearer the £6million Wigan accepted from Sunderland for the 22-year-old, a transfer the Kirkby-born player turned down earlier this week with his heart set on a move back to his native Merseyside.

Wigan have already rejected a £4m-plus player bid from Everton, but accept the left-back’s future lies away from the JJB Stadium.

And Latics manager Chris Hutchings is preparing for life without Baines by closing in on the capture of West Bromwich Albion full-back Paul Robinson.

Although Wigan were playing a friendly at Barnsley, Baines was at Goodison last night alongside close friend James Vaughan in the directors’ box for Everton’s friendly last night against Werder Bremen.

Moyes’s side came from behind twice to draw 2-2, James McFadden and a last-minute Anderson de Silva strike earning a share of the spoils after the Bundesliga outfit had twice gone ahead through Boubacar Sanogo and Per Mertesacker.

But the home side were given an injury concern when Tim Cahill’s first outing for Everton since recovering from the broken metatarsal he sustained in March ended with the Australian hobbling off during the second half.

Cahill will have a precautionary X-ray today, and Everton assistant manager Alan Irvine said: “He felt his foot again which obviously is a bit of a worry. He landed on it awkwardly, which probably frightened him a little.

“It is something we will check out but having spoken to him, he is feeling better.

“We will send him for an X-ray and hopefully everything will be okay. He was putting weight on it while in the dressing room after the game.”

McFadden, who created de Silva’s late equaliser, was also making his first appearance of pre-season as he recovered from a recurrence of a similar injury.

And Irvine said: “We were toying with the idea of not playing him and giving him a run-out in the game at Warrington on Thursday.

“I think James was a bit disappointed when he thought that he might not be involved.

“The last thing we want for him is to break down again.

“He has broken down before and if it happens again we will be back to square one.”

Of last night’s friendly, Irvine added: “A lot of these games are played with a low tempo with players not wanting to make tackles, but I thought it was a good game.

“They are a good side and we are all well aware of a number of their players.

“There are a lot of positives to take from this game but there are another couple of things we need to work on.”