In news that unfortunately won't leave many Manchester United supporters particularly saddened, Tom Cleverley is believed to be very close to signing a five-year contract with Everton with the deal expected to be confirmed later this week.

Cleverley, who has spent the entire 2014-15 campaign on loan with Aston Villa, is a free-agent as of the 30th June and the Merseyside club have made their move to secure the 25-year-old's signing on a Bosman with United not in line to receive any compensation due to the player being older than the cut-off age of 24.


 

Cleverley has enjoyed a resurgence in the second-half of the season with Tim Sherwood seemingly able to get the very best out of the midfielder in an attacking sense. Under Paul Lambert Cleverley's role was often a subdued one, rather like his final full season at Old Trafford under David Moyes.

 The player's performances were at a lower level than had been expected and it seemed unlikely Villa would take up their option to purchase Cleverley permanently in January for a fee believed to be around £7.5million.

However, the aforementioned turnaround in form helped guide Aston Villa both clear of relegation and into the FA Cup final with Cleverley integral in both successes. It was even muted that such was the dramatic shift in atmosphere at Villa Park since Sherwood's arrival that Cleverley would indeed join the Midlands club on a free-transfer at the end of June.

Yet with defeat in the cup final fresh in his mind, Cleverley has agreed to put pen to paper on a contract with Roberto Martinez's Everton where he will earn a salary around £50,000 per week according to Mike Keegan of the Daily Mail.

Cleverley's Manchester United career ended in unfortunate ignominy with the midfielder made the scapegoat for a number of the club's problems during the ill-fated nine month's with David Moyes at the helm.

It was unfortunate for an academy graduate to fall so spectacularly short of the mark after his early career at Old Trafford promised so much.

At the beginning of the 2011-12 season, Manchester United's midfield was on the rocks following Paul Scholes' first retirement and the club seemed to require a high-profile midfield signing to keep the team playing at such a high level.

Wesley Sneijder was the player identified and it is believed United did rather a lot to try and bring the Dutchman to Old Trafford from his then club, Internazionale of Milan. For whatever reason the deal failed to go through and United were left to look within their own ranks to structure a midfield capable of defending the club's Premier League title.

Up stepped Tom Cleverley. The determined centre-midfielder shone in the early part of the season putting in displays far beyond his years and it looked yet again as if Sir Alex Ferguson had pulled off a masterstroke without having to spend any money.

Things changed at the Reebok Stadium shortly before the middle of September when a poor Kevin Davies challenge saw Cleverley leave the pitch with a suspected broken foot.

Cleverley then missed much of the campaign and never really returned to his previous form, even in Sir Alex Ferguson's final season with the club Cleverley still struggled to make an impact in matches.

Everton are getting a player who thrives on confidence, as we have seen during his spell with Villa, and it will be incredibly important that Martinez can keep Cleverley confident so that he can get the very best out of the player.

This may not be too tricky for the Spaniard with the pair known to have a great relationship following Cleverley's loan spell with Martinez's Wigan Athletic side back in the 2010-11 campaign.

Despite a difficult end to life at Old Trafford, Cleverley made 79 first-team appearances for the club he joined at 11-years-old, as well as earning thirteen England caps. Everton could well be the perfect environment for him to thrive in given the quality players that are likely to play around him.

It also is a smart move from Everton's point of view with the lack of service to Romelu Lukaku this season rather worrying. If Cleverley is protected by a deeper midfielder, rather like James McCarthy, then he could be the man to help boost the link-up play with the Belgian forward.

The news doesn't come as too much of a shock to United as a club with the hierarchy having decided he was surplus to requirements last summer. There will be an inside disappointment that a transfer fee has not been gained in exchange for the player's services but it won't make too much difference to the commercial juggernaut that is Manchester United.

Louis van Gaal himself continues his search for midfield reinforcements ahead of next season with Ilkay Gundogan, Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger all being linked in recent days.