Moyes aims to keep Blues and Utd targets

Manager wants to retain Toffees' core

By Zain Alvi | 6th July 2012

Everton boss David Moyes has warned Chelsea and Manchester United that he is determined to retain star players Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines in a bid to secure Champions League qualification next season.

Moyes has heard the intense speculation surrounding United’s interest in Baines and Fellaini, with the latter also being a reported Blues target this summer.

Rather than giving potential suitors any indications about the availability of either player, though, Moyes has emphasized his commitment to keeping his core together for a strong run next season.

Besides, the Scot is also frustrated because all the transfer talk in recent weeks has emerged without him receiving any official inquiries from other clubs.

“I’ve heard nothing from nobody. We are always going to have interest in the players we have because we have good players but we don’t sell easy here and we try to build a team,” Moyes told Sky Sports.

The manager continued: “Of course you are going to lose players now and again but we have kept the bulk of players and we will continue to try to add to it and keep improving.”

Moyes famously led the Toffees to a fourth place finish at the conclusion of the 2004-05 campaign but acknowledges that repeating that feat requires a much stronger squad nowadays.

However, he is also confident that avoiding a perennially slow start to the season would benefit Everton’s strong finishers significantly in their pursuit of European football.

“The Premier League has changed in the level of squads and the standard but we will try to start the season better than we have done,” Moyes concluded.