Everton reject Gosling claims

Gosling: Controversial move

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Everton have moved to reject reports from Dan Gosling's agent that the club did not wish to extend the midfielder's contract prior to his move to Newcastle.

Newcastle landed Gosling on a free transfer earlier this month following a contract dispute between the player and Everton.

The Premier League ruled earlier in a hearing that Gosling was free to leave Goodison Park after the former Plymouth youngster was not given a new contract offer in writing.

Everton claimed they offered Gosling a rise verbally, but nothing was sent to him by the due date and he was allowed to leave for nothing.

Gosling's adviser, David Hodgson, claimed in a report in a Sunday newspaper that Everton had no intention to give Gosling a new deal and were 'deliberately tardy' in offering the player a contract offer.

Everton have now moved to set the record straight and have described Hodgson's claims as 'ludicrous' and 'grossly misleading'.

A club statement read: "In the wake of a report in a Sunday newspaper in which the agent of Dan Gosling made a series of allegations, Everton Football Club has decided to take the unprecedented step of setting straight a record of recent events which has, in its opinion, been deliberately distorted.

"In the article, Mr David Hodgson suggested that not only did this club not wish to extend Mr Gosling's stay at Goodison Park but that it had been deliberately tardy with regard to the formal offer of a new contract, presuming that an injury sustained by the player during the course of last season was of such a serious nature it would prevent him from signing for another club.

"Both claims are ludicrous, totally without substance and grossly misleading."

The statement added: "It was Everton's understanding that this gentleman's agreement would guarantee that the player would extend, by at least two years, the three-year deal he signed upon his arrival from Plymouth Argyle."

Toffees chairman, Bill Kenwright, refuted the suggestions that the club failed to deal with Gosling properly.

"In the very long history of our Club, our executive team have never once forgotten or neglected to deal properly and professionally with contractual matters," said Mr Kenwright. "We place our trust in people; we always keep our side of any offered deal - and all we have ever asked is that others do the same."

Denial

"We wanted Dan Gosling to stay with us - and, after what we had been told, we expected him to stay with us. However, in the first week in June, Mr Hodgson rang David Moyes seemingly content that he had manoeuvred a situation where Dan was a free agent," said Elstone.

Everton boss David Moyes admitted his disappointment at seeing Gosling leave Goodison Park

"Dan came to see me and told me that he saw himself as a central midfield player rather than someone who operated in a wide position," said Moyes.

"I did not think at that point that he would get into the Everton team as a central midfield player.

"I was always fully aware of the handshake agreement which Dave Hodgson had with a senior Club official regarding Dan's fourth and fifth years - and because of that agreement there wasn't, in my opinion, any necessity to put anything in writing.

"The first I knew of a problem was when Dave rang me to say that Dan's contract had lapsed and that he would be seeking to leave us on a free transfer.

"I told Dave that he had an agreement with the Club which he was now reneging on. We scouted Dan Gosling and brought him in when several other Premier League clubs looked but did not purchase.

Aggrieved

"We feel aggrieved that they have contrived a situation to get the player out of the Club when, if he had come and said that he wanted to leave, we could at least have done something about it - but at no point did Dan say he wished to leave.

"I read at the weekend that he cried when he didn't receive a formal, written offer. Well, trust me, the money Everton were offering was certainly not a crying matter."