Sporting Lisbon say they won’t sell Joao Moutinho

Jul 22 2008 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

EVERTON will face a fight to sign Joao Moutinho after his club declared they had no intention of selling him.

Sporting Lisbon have previously quoted that only a fee in the region of £20million would be enough for them to part with the Portuguese international midfielder.

Everton had been hoping to lower the asking price in their attempts to land Moutinho but in an interview on Portuguese radio, Sporting president Soares Franco outlined his determination to hold on to their 21-year-old captain.

He said: “The squad is closed for this season and we have received no offers for Joao Moutinho.

“He is in our squad and we have no need to sell as we are financially secure.

“We have secured European football again for next year so have benefited from that. The squad we

have at the moment is preparing to mount a title bid next season.”

Sporting will go straight into the Champions League group stages after finishing second in their domestic league last season.

Meanwhile, the players manager David Moyes does have at his disposal finalised their 2008-09 squad numbers yesterday.

Mikel Arteta switched to the number 10 shirt vacated by Thomas Gravesen with Phil Jagielka swapping his 16 for Arteta’s previous number six.

Full squad: 2. Tony Hibbert; 3. Leighton Baines; 4. Joseph Yobo; 5. Joleon Lescott; 6. Phil Jagielka; 7. Andy van der Meyde; 8. Andrew Johnson; 10. Mikel Arteta; 12. Iain Turner; 14. James Vaughan; 17. Tim Cahill; 18. Phil Neville; 19. Nuno Valente; 20. Steven Pienaar; 21. Leon Osman; 22. Yakubu; 24. Tim Howard; 26. Jack Rodwell; 28. Victor Anichebe; 30. John Ruddy; 32. Dan Gosling.