Manchester United Urged to Seek Alternative Transfer Targets

Everton boss Roberto Martinez has condemned Manchester United's pursuit of Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini after the club's rejected a combined bid for the pair.

United are believed to have bid £28m to try and tempt Baines, 28, and Fellaini, 25, to join former boss David Moyes at Old Trafford.

Both players are central to Martinez's plans in his first season at Goodison Park, a tenure which began with a 2-2 draw against Norwich City and the Spanish boss has dismissed United's offer which was labelled as "derisory and insulting" by the Merseysiders on Monday.

"It's been well documented what happened with the transfer speculation, that's been dealt with and it was all a little bit of a waste of time - time I don't want the players to waste," Martinez said.

"I think the situation is very clear. I think as a football club we will always keep our fans informed.

"I'm not a big believer in having the window open while the games are starting. I think the start of the season was important for us at Norwich and I won't come out now and carry on talking about the speculation.

"When there is something to tell our fans we will do that - they'll be the first ones to know if there are any players coming in or any players going out.

"I don't believe in getting involved in the transfer window when the games are underway and we are in a very, very important moment of our season," added Martinez.

"We're trying to find our feet, we got a good start under our belts, we've got real competition for places and we've got the visit of West Brom at the weekend.

"The players have had the demands of international football and then they started the league with a lot of travelling, so obviously you can imagine it's been important these past few days that we can get them recovered, regenerate them in the right manner and get them ready for the next game. That, at the moment, is our only focus."

Moyes is still to make a significant signing since his appointment as successor to Sir Alex Ferguson at United, but the Scot is adamant the current squad, which finished 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League last season, is equipped to defend their title.

The 50 year old's confidence appears well placed as United swatted away Swansea City on Saturday virtue of doubles from Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck at the Liberty Stadium.

Since arrived on 1 July, Moyes has failed with two bids for Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas while speculation regarding the future of Wayne Rooney has been of primary concern.