Dynamo Kiev president Ihor Surkis has claimed Everton left it too late with a last-gasp effort to sign Ukraine playmaker Andriy Yarmolenko on transfer deadline day.
While Kiev were happy to accept Everton's bid, the lack of time made it impossible to complete a deal before the deadline. The Blues also failed with a similar late attempt to sign Yarmolenko 12 months ago having had an offer rejected by Kiev earlier in the summer.
Blues fail in late bid for Yarmolenko
After being unable to persuade Moussa Sissoko to move to Goodison Park instead of Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day, Everton made a last-ditch bid to bring Yarmolenko to the club. Kiev president Ihor Surkis said that he was "satisfied" with the price the Blues had offered for the club's playmaker, but the bid came too late ahead of the 11pm deadline.
Surkis said that Everton submitted the offer just "one hour and 15 minutes" prior to the deadline meaning that the two clubs "did not have time to even draw up a contract". Surkis added that transfer bids "cannot be submitted that late."
Even if the clubs had agreed a fee in time, Everton would have still had to have agreed terms with Yarmolenko, although the Ukrainian international has reportedly been keen on a move to the Premier League and Goodison Park. When asked whether it was better to have a guaranteed place at Everton or be a substitute at Barcelona earlier this year, he said that "it is better to play at Everton".
Déjà vu?
Everton also failed with a similar late attempt to sign Yarmolenko 12 months ago having had an offer rejected by Kiev earlier in the summer. Surkis ruled then that the Toffees' bid came too late for him to sanction the transfer of his club's star player after Everton began negotiations in the final week of the window.
He said he would have "sold him if Everton came earlier in the transfer window", but Dynamo Kiev are renowned for being tough negotiators and Everton reportedly grew frustrated with the negotiations.