EVERTON fans’ favourite Lee Carsley has insisted David Moyes will not leave Everton this summer, as speculation grows that Aston Villa have ear-marked the Goodison boss as their number one managerial target.
Villa owner Randy Lerner is reported to have decided Moyes is his man, after Roberto Martinez last week turned down the chance to succeed Gerard Houllier.
Alex McLeish, who resigned as Birmingham boss yesterday, has also been linked with the Villa Park hotseat.
Sources in the Midlands claim Moyes would be offered a sizeable transfer war chest if he decided to take the job, but the ECHO understands the Scot has no intention of turning his back on the Toffees.
And ex-Republic of Ireland midfielder Carsley claims his former manager would not leave Everton for a smaller club.
Carsley, 37, who was the lynchpin of the Everton side Moyes guided to fourth place in the Premier League in 2005, said: “He’s so well thought of at Everton that he’d perhaps find it hard to move to Villa.
“If you were talking about one of the top four clubs then maybe but I wouldn’t see the benefit of him leaving Everton, which in my opinion is a bigger club.”
Carsley reluctantly turned down a contract extension at Everton in 2008 and signed for Birmingham City to be reunited with his Midlands-based wife and children.
And the tough-tackling defensive midfielder, who is currently a free agent after being released by Coventry City, believes Moyes’ commitment to the Goodison cause is all-consuming.
He believes his former manager would even think twice if offered the chance to manage a club in the Champions League.
“He’s that determined and focussed on doing well for Everton that I wouldn’t have thought he’d be thinking about anything else,” said Carsley.
“Having worked with him for so many years I know how dedicated he is to Everton and pushing them on.”
Moyes is the latest in a long line of managers to be linked with the Villa Park job after Martinez, Rafa Benitez, Steve McClaren and Mark Hughes were also said to be on the Villa Park hierarchy’s list of candidates.
Moyes, who is shortly due to return from holiday in the Bahamas, will instead turn his attention to signing the top-class goal-scorer he has made his priority this summer.
One target the Blues boss has run the rule over, Reading’s Republic of Ireland target-man Shane Long, can now reportedly add Bayern Munich to his list of suitors.
Moyes rates the 24-year-old, but Reading are believed to want in excess of £10m for a striker who is untested in the top-flight and, as reported in Saturday’s ECHO, Moyes is more interested in chasing a deal for Wigan’s French winger Charles N’Zogbia.
