8 August 2007, by Tom Kundert

Valencia and Manchester City target Manuel Fernandes

Benfica refuse to sanction transfer

Valencia and Manchester City have been strongly linked with a move for Benfica’s Portugal U21 midfielder Manuel Fernandes.

The English club, managed by Sven-Goran Ericksson, reportedly made a 15m euro offer on the weekend, and now Valencia have expressed their interest in purchasing the combative midfielder.

The Spanish outfit already have two Portuguese internationals on their books, right-back Miguel and utility defender Marco Caneira, and are looking to further boost their squad in an effort to land the La Liga title.

Benfica have reacted to the news by saying they are not interested in letting any players leave, and are in fact pondering whether or not to further reinforce their squad.

Fernandes has impressed in Benfica’s pre-season matches over the past fortnight. The player had reasonably successful spells on loan to Portsmouth and Everton last season, saying at the time that he only wanted to play in the Premiership.

Despite Benfica’s reticence in releasing the player, the recent sale of Simao Sabrosa, one week after coach Fernando Santos had said “losing the player would be a nightmare”, suggests that should the right offer arrive the Lisbon club may yield.


Related: Manuel Fernandes PortuGOAL profile