Man Utd duo Welbeck and Cleverly linked with Everton

Transfer rumours surrounding Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley have been intense in the last few weeks. The duo have been linked with a move to Everton. Danny Welbeck has hinted that he would be prepared to move away from Old Trafford in order to get regular first-team football. Cleverley, meanwhile, is rumoured to be looking for a move away for a similar reason. Both players would significantly fall down the pecking order next season if United go on a spending spree in the summer.

Cleverley has been linked with an £8 million move, while Welbeck could cost around £10 million. Everton manager Roberto Martinez, though, has rejected those rumours ahead of the weekend’s match with Southampton, he said ESPN: "Well, the crazy rumours are starting. We've got three games to go. It's an exciting end to the season, and we're talking about possible targets.

"There's nothing to mention. What there is to mention is that we'll use the window to try to be stronger in terms of the squad, and we'll look at all the players available and the possibilities that we need.”

Martinez would ideally like to keep loan stars like Romelu Lukaku and Gareth Barry beyond this season. They had settled extremely well with this Everton team and the tactics of Martinez also appears to suit them. However, making those signings permanent will require significant effort from Everton since they are unlikely to be cheap in terms of both wages and transfer fees.

Even though a tough match against Manchester City still remains on the cards, Martinez is remaining confident about achieving this dream. Even before the City match, the visit to Southampton looks to be extremely tough for Everton, who will be without centre back Sylvain Distin. Kevin Mirallas will also miss the match due to a muscle tear.

Cleverley and Welbeck have attracted a lot of criticism while playing for United, but they should be of sufficient quality to become stars at Goodison Park. Cleverley has one goal in 30 appearances, while has 10 in 31. Cleverley is likely to have significant competition in the summer with United being heavily linked with Bayern Munich’s Toni Kroos.