Moyes faces battle with Benfica to bag Fernandes

EVERTON will have to dig deep to land Benfica midfielder Manuel Fernandes after the Portuguese giants insisted they want to cling on to the 21-year-old.

Benfica’s claim comes despite the third party-owned player seemingly being on offer to Barclays Premier League clubs.

Fernandes spent the second half of last season on loan at Goodison Park, where problems with his third-party ownership scuppered any thoughts of making the deal permanent. But with Everton boss David Moyes having failed to prise Argentina international Luis Gonzalez from Porto, he is trying again to reach a satisfactory agreement.