Kayserispor almost signed him!

With Jozef Tokos, agent of Slovak national team goalkeeper Ján Mucha, about the background of the transfer to Everton

Ján Mucha will be an Everton player from the summer. This sentence was preceded by weeks of searching, speculation, and secrecy. Was this your toughest transfer?
“As far as timing is concerned, definitely. For the player, however, these were pleasant troubles. If only one club is interested, you negotiate terms. In terms of interest, it’s clear: there’s one club, you negotiate, and either you agree or not. But if several clubs are involved – three, five, seven, from different countries, at different times – it becomes much harder and more complicated. My job is to summarize the pros and cons, and give good and correct advice and information. In Mucha’s case, we travelled a lot in the last three weeks, it was demanding with all the trips. But it wasn’t just about those three weeks, it was about the last two transfer windows. In the end, it turned out well – the player is happy, his dream came true, and so his agent must also be satisfied.”

In the broader final stage there were reportedly seven clubs from Turkey, France, England, and Italy. Can we already specify them?
“Yes, we can. If it’s not settled, I have a rule not to comment and name clubs still in play. But here, it’s closed. From England: Everton and, so to speak, too late, Wigan. From Italy: Chievo Verona and Udinese. From Turkey: Kayserispor and Trabzonspor. From France: Stade Rennes. And I would also add Legia Warsaw. These were the clubs that were already in negotiations and discussing specific numbers. If I mentioned clubs that only showed interest but did not get to that stage, the circle would be much wider.”

For about a week Tottenham was the media favorite.
“Tottenham was in that second category. There was interest, but they never contacted us with terms. They were probably considering several candidates to compete with their goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. But if the media reported that Tottenham was the club Mucha and I flew to and negotiated with, that wasn’t true.”

Was Arsenal London absolute nonsense?
“Actually, no. They really were interested, already in autumn. Their scouts watched him, even their chief scout came to see him. They saw him in several matches. Sometime in November, in a personal meeting, they declared that Janko, along with one other goalkeeper, remained in the final two from which they would offer a contract to one. According to them, Janko was even the favorite! In London, I met with a high-ranking Arsenal official, we discussed all the details, and then we just waited for their decision. If that famous phone call had come, it’s very likely this transfer could have happened already last year.”

Was Trabzonspor’s offer financially the most attractive?
“Both Turkish offers, from Trabzonspor and Kayserispor, were more lucrative than the Premier League ones.”

What was the difference between them?
“Kayseri was in play longer. They made their offer at the end of last year. Janko even went personally to Kayseri, looked at the city, stadium, and people, to imagine whether he could live and work there. Trabzonspor appeared right before the finale, but at that point negotiations with Everton were already peaking. Both Turkish offers, in terms of net money, were more attractive than the English ones. That results from taxation differences between Turkey and the UK. Comparing Trabzonspor and Kayseri: Kayseri offered a better guaranteed contract, while Trabzon offered higher match bonuses. Hard to compare, but Janko was closer to signing with Kayseri. To put it on an imaginary clock, we were only a few minutes away… Finally, we agreed Janko would think it over, and those were decisive moments. Two weeks ago, on Thursday and Friday, while he was weighing the Turkish offer, Everton called and said they improved their original offer. Then Everton took the lead. Had they not raised their bid, it’s likely we would have agreed with Kayserispor. In December, they were league leaders, now they’re fourth. Their Cameroonian goalkeeper Souleymanou’s contract ends on June 30, 2010, and Janko was guaranteed to be their number one.”

We also heard about strong interest from Panathinaikos Athens. Their coach Henk Ten Cate supposedly came to our international match for someone else, but ended up writing down Mucha’s name.
“Panathinaikos was in the category of clubs that clearly had interest. But negotiations never took place.”

French club Stade Rennes had already checked Mucha thoroughly.
“Rennes was a serious candidate. They were looking for a keeper alongside Douchez, one of the best in Ligue 1. His contract is ending and negotiations are ongoing. If they don’t reach agreement, he may leave… In any case, by the end of last year they already showed interest in the winter transfer window. But their financial offer wasn’t ideal. And besides, for us it was absolutely unacceptable that Janko would spend half a year as Douchez’s backup.”

Everton was finalized with the help of another agent, Karol Csontó.
“If the Slovak FA has a motto ‘Let’s unite for football,’ then here it worked that way. He specifically helped me with Everton and Wigan. Through him, since I knew he had contacts there, information and DVDs went to the clubs, and we jointly organized scouting of the last match. It wasn’t one-off cooperation but several months of it. Absolutely beneficial. Others might have reacted differently, tried to block competition, but – not to sound like a cliché – I cared about the client, the player. That’s why I chose cooperation.”

So you and Csontó could go to Liverpool together – you rooting for Mucha, him for Skrtel from his stable – and enjoy the Everton–Liverpool derby.
“Ha, ha… We met with Martin Skrtel in Liverpool, he’s already looking forward to that derby. It could be quite funny.”

Was Legia’s management disappointed that it turned out they won’t get anything from Mucha’s transfer?
“I was optimistic and in December I said I believed in a proper January transfer to a good club, meeting certain criteria, where Janko would play regularly. Also, a winter transfer would mean a transfer fee paid. But circumstances were what they were – linked to the goalkeeper market across Europe, where I didn’t see any major goalkeeper transfers. The only serious January option was the French one we already discussed. So it wasn’t speculation from the player’s or my side that he would transfer now, but later in summer with a better contract. Objectively, such an offer wasn’t on the market. Whoever wants to understand will, whoever doesn’t will be disappointed, but we are speaking objectively.”

For Ján Mucha, though, the timing is ideal.
“I’m convinced of that! He can have a clear head. Keep playing regularly for Legia, perform well, help them cut Wisla Krakow’s lead and secure a Champions League place. Then comes the World Cup, and then a new club. He could have waited for offers after the World Cup, but that would be risky – injuries could happen…”

Mucha will face strong competition at Everton in captain Tim Howard. But in England it’s speculated that if Edwin van der Sar ends his career at Manchester United in summer, a goalkeeper domino could start. Even Howard could end up elsewhere – maybe at Man Utd…
“I think exactly the same, that idea is correct. One move could trigger it. Last week I spoke with Stoke City director John Rudge, who confirmed they made an offer to Portsmouth for David James. Green from West Ham has long been on other clubs’ radar. If such a transfer happens – worth several million pounds – then the club losing the keeper would immediately look for a replacement.”

What do you think, knowing Ján Mucha and trusting your instinct, about his career in the Premier League?
“The key is mentality. And Janko has it! He’s never been afraid of challenges. He is patient, still young – in the Premier League almost half the goalkeepers are over 32, and he’s 27. He has a three-year contract, coach David Moyes really wanted him. Everton will play almost 50 matches across league, cups, and Europe. Even if Howard stays, he’ll get his chance. He can succeed – he believes in himself against any opponent.”

Rennes even watched him in Legia training!
French club Stade Rennes monitored Mucha closely. On DVDs, in matches – but not only there. “Mr. Pierrick Hiard, a long-time goalkeeping coach, watched him for three days at Legia training! That’s quite a curiosity,” reveals Jozef Tokos.

Hesitation from Genoa
Among the clubs that showed interest in Mucha but didn’t proceed to concrete numbers was Italian side Genoa. “But I would highlight them above the others who only showed interest. Their approach was more than solid. We had talks with their sporting director. They had serious interest in Janko, but eventually told me that after a discussion with the club owner they decided they must first sell their No. 1 keeper Amelia before making a goalkeeper transfer. A bit unusual, but of course it was their business,” says Jozef Tokos.

A half-year loan somewhere else?
The current situation is that Ján Mucha is an Everton player from July 1, 2010, until then a Legia Warsaw player. But there is still talk about the possibility of a loan.
“The deadline in most European countries to finalize such deals is next Monday, February 1, since the last day of January falls on a weekend. This possibility still exists. It could be clubs from stronger leagues, maybe in relegation trouble, who would need a goalkeeper immediately. But Legia Warsaw would have to agree. It’s more likely he’ll stay at Legia, but there’s about a week left to respond to such an offer,” says Jozef Tokos. “Of course, hard to speak for Legia, but in that case they would at least get some money from Mucha’s situation, since after his contract ends they won’t. Negotiations about compensation would have to take place – not just a standard loan fee, maybe even partially at the expense of the player’s salary package. But it would have to be a club guaranteeing he will play. Because for Janko, match practice before the World Cup is now crucial,” adds the agent of Slovakia’s No. 1.