KONE FOR EVERTON

After taking over at Everton a few weeks ago, former Wigan manager Roberto Martinez is already looking at his former club for a couple of players. Striker Arouna Kone is thought to be keen on his list of players he would like to bring from his former club. The striker is now looking set to join Everton for around £ 5 million. Antolin Alcaraz is also another player who is linked with a move to Everton. Kone has been one of the standout players for Wigan since arriving from Spanish club Levante only last summer. He managed to score some vital goals for Wigan last season.

However, the club was unable to stay in the Premier league despite Kone’s 11 goals. It was immediately expected after their relegation that several top players will leave the club partly because of ambition to remain in the Premier league, while partly because the club cannot afford their wages. Kone is expected to be one of the first departures, and he will bring in £ 5 million in transfer revenue for new manager Owen Coyle to spend at the DW stadium.

Kone helped Wigan win the FA Cup for the first time in their history, but he said soon after that he would like to leave the club after their relegation was confirmed.

“You always have ambitions as a footballer, and I don’t intend to play in the English second division. Wigan have gone down, which is a real shame. It’s up to them to set out their stance about my situation. I aim to play for one of the best clubs in England, and I hope I will get the chance. I’ve had plenty of approaches, I can’t reveal the names of the clubs. I’m under contract with Wigan for two more years,” said the Ivory Coast international.

O’NEILL LEAVES SUNDERLAND

Former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill was recently relieved of his duties at Sunderland. O’Neill lasted just over a year at the Stadium of light with many questioning his ability to manage a top club once again. Celtic manager Neil Lennon’s career has largely shaped by O’Neill, and he has paid a glowing tribute to his manager. It was not long ago that O’Neill created a revolution at Aston Villa and became extremely close to helping the club win a major title. However, things have gone wrong for the former Leicester City manager, as he has been unable to inspire his Sunderland team for large parts of his stay at the club.

He was recently replaced by Paolo Di Canio after poor results meant that Sunderland were just a few points about the relegation zone. Lennon, though, believes that this will not be the end of O’Neill’s management career because he is sure that he will return to his former glory. This was the first management job that has accepted by O’Neill after leaving Aston Villa a few years ago. Lennon also congratulated the new manager Di Canio by saying that he deserves a chance after doing extremely well at Swindon.

Di Canio helped Swindon achieve impressive results during his short stay at the club.

“I was surprised by Martin’s sacking – but nothing should surprise me in football now. I was obviously very disappointed for him but no one will be more disappointed than the man himself [though] he’ll take a philosophical view on it. He’s one of the most experienced managers around and I’m not sure he’ll be out of the game too long, there will be plenty of suitors. He’ll be hurting for a short period of time and he’ll probably take time out. But I’m hoping he’ll come again,” said Lennon.