Fernandes to deliver Everton snub

Manuel Fernandes is set to sign for Valencia despite assuring Everton boss David Moyes on Thursday that he would move to Goodison Park in "24 hours".

The Benfica midfielder, 21, was a guest of Everton for their home game with Blackburn on Saturday after passing a medical with the Premier League club.

But Valencia report on their website that Fernandes will be presented as their new player on Monday.

He will join the Spanish club on a six-year deal for a reported �12m.

The news will come as a blow for Moyes, who only has until the transfer deadline closes on Friday to find a replacement midfielder.

Fernandes had a successful spell on loan at Goodison last season but his move to Everton had been complicated because he is part-owned by a third party, the Global Sports Agency.

He had already successfully completed a medical at Goodison Park, and the contracts - which included issues of third-party ownership - were being studied by Premier League officials.

Under Premier League rules, England's top clubs are not allowed to field a player owned by a third party who would have the "ability materially to influence its policies or the performance of its teams".

Everton, it is believed, were initially only buying 50% of the player from Benfica for �6m, with third party companies owning the rest, though as part of the deal the Premier League club would retain an option to buy out the rest of the player after a fixed period.

That initially caused problems for the Premier League, which is clamping down on all third-party transfers in the wake of the Carlos Tevez affair, and Everton then moved to buy out the other 50% from the owners.

But third-party contracts are not an issue in Spain and Valencia are thought to have offered Benfica a fee in the region of �10m for just 50% of the player, which means his owners would retain an interest in the player and any future transfer fees.

Source: BBC Sport