Tie, an Italian, and a couple of French chancers

By Chris Kirwan
August 12 2003

It’s been a while since I have updated the site, so I’d better churn out some of the news that you’ve probably read elsewhere by now…

As expected as deal for Li Tie has been reached, this after Everton were very subtle in hiding their confidence of completing the deal. After allowing Li Tie to train with the team, playing him in friendlies, and then putting him in the official photo, it’s come as a major shock that the deal has been secured.

The delay in the deal may have been down to the various partners in the deal. Tie’s former club Liaoning had wanted £1.5m and it seems that the Blues may have agreed a deal of around £1m, with the club forking out a third of that. The rest has been arranged by Kejian who joined forces with ACIG Media and construction firm Xing He to ensure the transfer demands were met.

Tie had a solid year last season, and showed plenty of promise. Hopefully he will have learnt from the mistakes he made, and will push more firmly for a starting berth. Out of all of the hard-working midfielders it was Tie who looked most comfortable on the ball, and who possessed the ablilty to spread play. While outside forces may have contributed to ensuring his permanent arrival, Tie is a player that Moyes will be delighted to have on board.

Another new arrival comes in the shape of Patrizio Pascucci, the 17 years old Italian who was previously on Lazio’s books. Despite it initially seeming as though Moyes had declined to follow up on his trial period, Moyes has decided to sign Pascussi up to settle into the youth team. Moyes declared that he is some way off first team football, so the club have been linked with plenty of striking options to cover for the lack of forwards at the start of the season.

Tony Vareilles, Jason Roberts and Cyril Chapuis have all been linked, though Moyes seems quite happy with starting Nick Chadwick against Arsenal. Leon Osman has also been pushing his claims for first team involvement, scoring 3 in the reserves’ 4-1 win at Bolton.

Meanwhile, where Sean Davis will be playing this season is still in doubt. Middlesbrough and Everton seem to be favourites to sign the cockney, though it’s no rush as he’s injured at the moment.

Links to the articles linking the Blues with the French strikers can be found here.... Rumour Tracker.