West Bromwich Albion boss Alan Pardew has slammed Arsenal for their derisory offer for defender Jonny Evans on transfer deadline day.
The Gunners have been courting the former Manchester United centre back for a number of months, but with club officials tied up in deals for Sanchez, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Giroud and Ozil, they never really made a significant approach until the dying hours of the transfer window.
It is believed that the offer that Arsenal made for the Baggies captain was valued at around £12million – significantly below West Brom’s asking price. Speaking to the media, Alan Pardew said that Arsenal ‘only had themselves to blame’:
“It wasn’t for lack of warning to Arsenal and to all the clubs.
“I’ve sat here every week saying don’t make a bid on the last day, because you’re not going to get what you want, really, unless it’s a bid that’s going to knock us off our chair. And it was no way near that.
“So they got probably the response they were expecting with that bid, I think.”
Evans missed Wednesday’s game against Manchester City, another potential suitor for the defender, due to a hamstring injury but he is in contention for a return against Southampton on Saturday. Pardew added:
“Jonny is a very, very important player. He is a great player. He is part of the spine of the team and that’s what I tried to strengthen this window.
“Jonny hasn’t moved on and we brought Daniel Sturridge to strengthen that area right through the middle of the pitch. I don’t know which of the two was more important.”
