by Nia Griffiths

Did you know that we were genuinely interested in Tom Cleverley but he chose Everton instead?

Neither did I.

Although there were the usual murmurings in the press about the potential transfer of the midfielder to Arsenal, I’m not sure anyone ever really took them seriously. Well, apparently, we were and it was him who turned us down.

According to reports, the 25-year-old chose Everton over Arsenal because he would rather work with Roberto Martinez. I imagine, if these rumours are true, that it was also partly to do with the Manchester United/Arsenal rivalry too but not many players – especially midfielders – would turn down the opportunity to work with Le Professeur.

Cleverley worked with Martinez back when he was at Wigan Athletic, where he played 25 games before joining United, so there’s already an established connection there. Obviously the former Man United player is eager to work with him again, as well as get himself guaranteed first team football.