MX23RW : Tuesday, November 26 06:33:56| >> :120:20085:20085:

Marcel Brands: 'Yerry Mina only wanted to join Everton'

Brands: 'Mina only wanted to join Everton'
© Reuters
Everton director of football Marcel Brands insists that Yerry Mina was never interested in joining Manchester United prior to his Goodison Park switch.

Everton director of football Marcel Brands has rejected claims that his side only beat Manchester United to Yerry Mina's signature due to the huge fees paid to the defender's agent.

The Toffees were involved in a reported tug-of-war with their Premier League rivals for Mina's signature right until the final stages of the summer transfer window.

A deal was finally agreed on deadline day for the Colombia international, with an initial £28.5m being handed over to Barcelona and an undisclosed amount to uncle and representative Yair Mina.

Contrary to suggestions in the media, however, Brands insists that Mina was Everton's top defensive target and the 23-year-old only ever had eyes on Goodison Park.

"It was really simple behind the scenes. I put the offer in and Barcelona asked for a totally different amount that we would never have paid," he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. "Then they said, 'OK, we will wait until the end of the market'. We never changed our offer.

"That was a bit of gamble because everyone was writing about Man United [wanting Mina] and Barcelona used that, agents used that, everyone used it. The player said constantly to me, 'I want to go to Everton'.

"That was a great thing for us but you never know if Manchester United come in and offer an extra £150,000 a week - every player would like that.

"Barcelona said to me, 'Man United are coming in'. I don't know if they did but I took a bit of a risk with that. That's why we were also keen on back-ups. You never know. But after the weekend before the market closed, I had a confident feeling about it."

Mina was the top-scoring defender at the World Cup, finding the net three times for Colombia in Russia - against Poland, Senegal and England.

ID:333578: cacheID:333578:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3132:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Lucas Digne in action for Barcelona on December 5, 2017
Read Next:
Everton 'keen on Lucas Digne'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!