Everton manager Roberto Martinez has revealed that he was told Tom Cleverley was not available for loan during the summer.
The 25-year old Manchester United midfielder has been loaned to Aston Villa for the 2014-15 Premier League season after attracting plenty of interest from the Toffees during the recent transfer window.
Martinez, who had Cleverley on loan at Wigan Athletic in 2010-11, admitted he wanted to bring the 13-time England international to Goodison Park but was told that the player was not up for grabs.
The Spaniard also explained that United see Everton as a threat and did not want to farm their player out to a league rival.
"I am a big admirer of Tom," said Martinez. "That was an opportunity that we explored on the last day of the window but it couldn't happen for different reasons. I don't think there was just one aspect.
"It's the parent club that makes that decision. Maybe they just didn't want to send a player on loan to a club that is going to be challenging for things and finished above them last season, I don't know.
"Our information was that the player wasn't available on loan full stop. You can look at the table from last season and we finished fifth and they finished a bit lower, so from that respect you can understand.
"But, at the same time, Aston Villa have started the season really well. They are going to be a strong team. But we can't comment on that, it is down to Manchester United. A situation with Cleverley came up that I was happy to explore. In the end it didn't work out."
