STEVEN Pienaar is edging closer to a January move to Tottenham after the Everton midfielder failed to agree terms with Chelsea.
David Moyes has confirmed that the Toffees accepted an offer, believed to be £3m, for the South African from Carlo Ancelotti’s champions on Thursday, but talks between his agent and the West Londoners stalled over finances.
The Blues have also received a bid for the 28-year-old from Spurs, which falls short of their valuation, and are waiting for an increased offer.
It leaves Moyes facing a selection headache ahead of Sunday’s Anfield derby clash, as he ponders whether to play the schemer, who has made it clear he wants to leave this month.
The Everton manager, who previously insisted he would not cash in on the former Ajax star, believes he must now accept any opportunity to boost his transfer coffers instead of losing him for nothing in the summer.
He said: “You get the offer of that money in January and it makes you think. Until Thursday we hadn’t had any offers. We’ve got a situation now where it would probably be wrong to turn down a £3m offer at this time.
“Unless I get something different he will be involved on Sunday. But I will have a decision to make whether I use him or not.
“I think the player probably decided that he wanted to go when he turned down his contract six months or a year ago. But he has done very well for us on the pitch, so we have no complaints.”
Everton are believed to be intent on cash only offers for Pienaar, and would not entertain a player plus money proposition from Spurs or anyone else.
One player who is unlikely to be joining Spurs, however, is skipper Phil Neville. Despite Harry Redknapp admitting he was interested in capturing the 33-year-old Goodison captain last week, Everton have had no concrete offers and do not expect any.
Meanwhile, defender Phil Jagielka has been ruled out of Sunday’s trip across the park, when the Blues go in search of their first victory at Anfield since 1999.
The England centre-half last played for the Blues in the New Year’s Day defeat at Stoke but was expected to be in contention for a return at Anfield, but Moyes confirmed that he would again be absent from the Blues’ squad. Tim Cahill’s absence aside, Everton are otherwise expected to be at full strength.
