David Moyes issued a bold statement of Everton's intent last night by revealing he had sounded out Michael Owen over a potential transfer from Real Madrid to Goodison Park, with his move for the England striker far from dependent on progress into the Champions League proper.

While Owen declined the invitation, Moyes tried to offer supporters some encouragement after a summer of apparent frustration in the market by revealing bids in excess of £10 million had been made for two other forwards. Both were rejected but the Everton manager still expects to make significant additions to his squad before the closure of the transfer window next Wednesday.

Whether the club are competing in the Champions League or the Uefa Cup will be determined in this evening's second leg against Villarreal as the Merseysiders attempt to overturn a 2-1 deficit at the El Madrigal Stadium. Yet progress into Europe's elite competition, while beneficial to the tune of at least £10 million, would not affect the amount of funds available.

"There will definitely be people coming in before the deadline," said Moyes, who has spent £14 million to date this summer on Mikel Arteta, Phil Neville, Per Kroldrup and Simon Davies. "We tried for Michael Owen. We would love to have Michael and we can offer the money required to bring him here - we've been asking the questions for a lot longer than people think - but he and his representatives were very kind and said it wasn't the right move at this time.

"We also offered £10 million for Dirk Kuyt at Feyenoord on August 1st, so people who say we haven't been competing for players are wrong. Feyenoord came back and said they wanted £12 million for him, but we offered nearly that much for another big-name striker as well.

"People are saying the board haven't been backing me, but we've been out competing for new players all summer. For the last 10 years we haven't been able to compete for these kind of players so, rather than criticising us, people should be praising Everton for attempting to buy these prestigious players."

Quite what the likes of Marcus Bent and James Beattie will make of the confirmation their manager is bidding for another forward remains to be seen, though Everton need the current crop to thrive tonight. Villarreal, renowned for their mean defence and potency on the counter-attack, must be pierced at least twice if the Merseysiders are to take part in the premier European competition proper for the first time in 34 years.

That the Premiership club arrived here yesterday with a patched-up squad will hardly help their prospects. Alessandro Pistone remained in Liverpool awaiting the results of a scan on a knee, which he injured at Bolton on Sunday, with Bent also nursing a knock from that game. Beattie, who injured a toe against Manchester United, may be given an injection before kick-off if he is to feature.

"It's as big a game as any of my players have been involved in and it would be our biggest achievement to get through," Moyes added. "I'm one of those people who says there's always something bigger and better around the corner, but it would certainly be more impressive than finishing fourth last season."

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

VILLARREAL (4-3-1-2): Barbosa; Javi Venta, Rodriguez, Alvarez, Arruabarrena; Senna, Tacchinardi, Sorin; Riquelme; Forlan, Figueroa.

EVERTON (4-4-2): Martyn; Hibbert, Yobo, Weir, Neville; Davies, Arteta, Cahill, Kilbane; Beattie, Ferguson.

Referee: P Collina (Italy).

Guardian Service