EVERTON manager Roberto Martinez was last night trying to hijack Leicester's bid for Shaun Maloney as part of a £5million double swoop for a pair of Scottish internationals.
Martinez is also understood to be considering a move to bring Gordon Strachan's No1 David Marshall to Goodison Park from Norwich City but he faces a much harder fight to wrestle Maloney away from fellow Premier League strugglers Leicester.
It is understood that Nigel Pearson remains confident of completing a deal for the Wigan forward, in spite of Leicester's first bid being rejected. The Foxes are four points adrift of safety at the bottom of the top-flight table with creativity and goals in short supply.
Wigan manager Malky Mackay confirmed yesterday that the club had turned down an offer for the 31-year-old former Celtic and Aston Villa attacker but Leicester are primed to return with a fresh bid of £1m-plus with Everton and Burnley also weighing up an offer.
"We have had a bid from one which was rejected and at the moment Shaun is absolutely still my player, and is also showing that he is still my player and I wouldn't expect anything else from him. He's a terrific boy," said Mackay.
"There have been four or five enquiries on Shaun. We will play that by ear. It will be a club decision, but I have to say he has been excellent as a professional. He has massive quality, but he has six months left on his contract, it's frustrating.
"There's not much I can do about that. It's something that may be out of my control. Obviously I want to keep my best players but that is not always something you can do."
Maloney's stock is high at the moment due to his form for club and country. He scored the winner when Scotland beat Ireland in the European Championshipqualifier at Hampden Park in November.
Beleaguered Everton manager Martinez is also believed to be have his sights set on Marshall as first-choice Tim Howard faces another month on the sidelines with a calf problem.
Marshall is under contract at Cardiff until the summer of 2018 having signed a new four-and-a-half-year deal in February 2014 and could cost as much as £4million should Martinez press ahead with his plans.
Meanwhile current Everton forward - and international teammate of both Maloney and Marshall - Steven Naismith is hoping their last-gasp FA Cup rescue act against West Ham United can turn around their season.
Naismith has always been confident that Everton's fortunes would turn and he never gave up hope.
He said: "You can't think like that and the result shows that. We kept going. We know in this squad that what we did last season was great and we know we are capable of that so you have always got to have that in the back of your mind rather than giving up.
" I don't think I have been on a run as long as this in my career but this is where you have got to stand up and be counted rather than just when confidence is high and everything is going well.
"There has been a loss of confidence but a lot of things haven't gone our way in games.
"But we believe in what we are doing and we know it works for us and can get us results. We
will continue to do that."
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