Fernandes snub forces Moyes into race to sign new midfielder

Aug 28 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

DAVID MOYES faces a race against time to capture a new midfielder after Everton were left outraged by Manuel Fernandes’s sensational snub yesterday.

The Portugal midfielder’s remarkable change of heart saw him sign for Valencia on a six-year deal despite agreeing a move to Goodison Park less than 48 hours earlier.

Fernandes shook hands with Everton chairman Bill Kenwright on Saturday after verbally giving assurances on a club record £12million transfer from Benfica.

The midfielder, who had been training at Bellefield last week while waiting for the deal to be completed, was a guest of the club at Saturday’s 1-1 home draw against Blackburn Rovers.

But the 21-year-old left his Merseyside hotel on Sunday morning before flying to Spain to rubber-stamp a move to La Liga outfit Valencia – without any explanation to Everton.

The Goodison outfit’s attempts to contact the player were thwarted by the fact Fernandes had his phone turned off, after which they discovered Valencia had announced they were due to sign the midfielder for a similar £12m outlay.

Reports in Portugal last night suggested Benfica had persuaded Fernandes to move to Valencia because the La Liga team were prepared to pay a greater chunk of the fee up front, as well as offering a higher salary.

Everton last night released a detailed statement regarding the situation, and are privately fuming at the player’s conduct.

“Everton Football Club feels it should clarify the situation with regards to Manuel Fernandes,” said Ian Ross, the club’s director of communications.

“We worked hard all last week on what was a very difficult and complex three-party agreement.

“Everton staff worked through the night on Thursday, finally reaching agreement with the English footballing authorities on Friday afternoon.

“A similar night’s work on Friday left us satisfied that we had both addressed and agreed all issues with the other involved parties.

“However, on Saturday we were informed that another club had come in with a rival bid and despite sustained efforts over the remainder of the weekend the player today joined Valencia.

“David Moyes and his coaching staff are continuing to seek the extra addition to our squad, which they feel they require for this season.”

Only last Friday, Moyes considered the Fernandes deal “nearly done” and was hopeful of parading the player later this week alongside the incoming Aiyegbini Yakubu.

Instead, the Everton manager now has only four days in which to find an alternative midfield reinforcement before the transfer window closes at the end of the week.

Fernandes scored two goals in nine appearances while on loan at Goodison last season and had long expressed his desire to make the move permanent.

However, the issue of Fernandes’s registration had been the perennial sticking point of any transfer, with the player part-owned by a group of investment bankers called Global Sports Agency.

Everton had negotiated a deal that would see the whole fee paid to Benfica, who would then sort out how much money would go to the third party for their half of the player’s rights.

But with Spanish football accepting of third-party ownership, the entire £12.2m of Valencia’s offer could conceivably go into the Portuguese club’s coffers, therefore making their deal far more appealing to the Lisbon side.

On being unveiled at Valencia last night, Fernandes claimed to “know nothing” about how the Everton deal collapsed and insisted he was persuaded to move to Spain by fellow Portuguese player Miguel.

“What happened with Everton are things that I know nothing about and what is most important now is that I am here,” said Fernandes.

“I did not expect everything to happen to me so quickly, but I am very excited to be here. I talked to Miguel and know that I am joining a good club and a place where I can grow.”

Despite the setback with Fernandes, Everton are confident their move for Yakubu will be given the green light when the appeal over the initial rejection of his work permit is heard tomorrow.