Everton manager David Moyes hopes to ward off a reported €4 million bid by Real Madrid for his highly-rated Danish midfielder Thomas Gravesen.
"I want him to stay," Moyes said. "We've had no contact and I hope it stays that way."
The 28-year-old Gravesen whose, contract ends in June, joined Everton from Hamburg in 2000.
Reports in Spain said Real would pay for Gravesen with cash from Fernando Morientes' imminent move to Liverpool.
And the BBC reports that Gravesen's agent, former Manchester United player John Sivabaek, has held talks with the Bernabeu club.
"I will be meeting Real on Wednesday. There is serious interest, but it is Everton's hands," Sivabaek is quoted as saying.
Real were expected to move for Marseille's Benoit Pedretti or Arsenal's Edu if they cannot sign Gravesen.
