David Moyes hoping he can bring best out of Fernandes

Jan 12 2008 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

DAVID MOYES believes a reassuring arm around Manuel Fernandes can bring the best out of the Portuguese midfielder.

The 21-year-old is beginning his second spell at Goodison after a six-month loan move from Valencia was rubber-stamped last night.

Fernandes has endured a miserable time since moving to the Mestalla last summer, with his first-team opportunities limited after the sacking of former coach Quique Sanchez Flores.

The Portugal international even spent a night behind bars in Valencia earlier this month following a fracas after wrongly being accused of stealing a watch.

However, Moyes is confident the player can benefit from a change of scenery while challenging Fernandes to prove he can earn a regular starting place at Goodison.

“We can all help Manny,” said the Everton manager. “But he’s been here before so he doesn’t need too much help. He gives us another midfield player, which we’ve been short of. We’ve got him on loan which means we haven’t had to spend any cash for him.

“Potentially he has an awful lot of things. Maybe what he needs is to be loved a little bit and given an opportunity. But I think he’ll find Everton are better than when he left last year. He’ll need to play well to get in the team.

“He’s got a lot of competition because we’ve got a great group of players here and the team have been playing really well this season. Hopefully he can come in and add to that. But there’s no guarantee for him that he will play.”

Fernandes spent the second half of last season on loan at Goodison from Benfica, making nine appearances and scored two goals.

He made enough of an impression to persuade Moyes to pursue a £12million permanent deal during the close season.

Fernandes even verbally agreed a transfer to Everton in August only to change his mind at the last minute and opt to move to Valencia instead.

But Moyes said yesterday: “I don’t think we could have done the deal last year because of the third-party agreement. I’m in agreement on the subject of third parties. I think a player should be owned by a club rather than another party.

“It was always going to be dear for us. I think he wasn’t playing at Valencia this season because of the change of manager.

“Let’s hope he still does it. We’ll have to wait and see. He has the potential.”

Fernandes could yet figure in this afternoon’s home encounter against Manchester City, although Everton faced a race against time to ensure his registration went through in time to be eligible for the fixture.

Moyes – who began his managerial career at Preston North End 10 years ago today – will definitely have Mikel Arteta available after the Spaniard completed the three-game suspension for his red card against Arsenal over Christmas.

The absence for African Cup of Nations trio Yakubu, Joseph Yobo and Steven Pienaar hands an opportunity to a number of squad players.

James Vaughan and Victor Anichebe will compete for a place in attack, while Leighton Baines, Nuno Valente and Alan Stubbs are all in contention for a recall to defence.

However, Leon Osman (toe), Iain Turner (hip) and Andy van der Meyde (shin) are still out.