HIS team-mates may be playing for a place at Wembley, but for Jo the prize this season would be sealing a regular appearance at Finch Farm.

Slowly but surely, the Brazilian striker is resurrecting a faltering Premier League career since arriving on loan at Goodison from Manchester City in January.

Two more goals yesterday helped Everton canter to their biggest win of the season and increased the clamour for his move down the M62 to be made permanent.

That’s now five in seven games for David Moyes’s side – all at Goodison Park – compared to the miserly three Jo netted in 18 outings for City.

How the Brazilian must privately curse the 20-minute substitute appearance at Eastlands in City’s third round defeat to Nottingham Forest that means he must watch from the stands when Everton take on Manchester United for a place in the final.

Of course, talent alone may not be the decisive factor in whether Jo begins the new campaign at Goodison.

City will surely want to recoup much of the £18million they paid to bring the 22-year-old to England from CSKA Moscow.

And while Moyes is yet to discover his transfer kitty for the summer transfer window, a wealth of striking options – when fit – may count against the Brazilian.

While Jo must wait to learn his fate, yesterday’s outcome was something of a racing certainty. Everton had won all previous games at Goodison on the Sunday after the Grand National, and this latest triumph was rarely in doubt.

It was also the first time Everton had recorded seven successive home victories in all competitions since March 1995.

That season ended with the FA Cup being lifted at Wembley, and ensuring a repeat has become the main priority in the minds of Evertonians this season.