Everton 'fail in Florentino Luis, Timothy Weah loan approaches'

With the window set to close in just two days' time, Everton are still yet to bring any new faces in, despite having an extremely stretched squad at present.

Two charges for breaking the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability rules means the Toffees are being extremely stringent in the market, in fear of falling foul of regulations yet again.

Manager Sean Dyche and Director of Football Kevin Thelwell have both admitted that it is set to be a quiet month on the transfer front for Everton.

That is despite the fact they could potentially go into Tuesday night's fixture at Fulham with just one fit central midfielder, as an injury crisis has hit the squad over the past month.

Dyche jokingly admitted that there are many players he would like to add to the squad this month, but knows it is unlikely to transpire given the restraints on the club.

When asked about if there are players on Everton's shortlist who they would be interested in bringing in on loan, Dyche replied: "Loads, lots."

Two of those players are believed to be Benfica's Florentino and Weah, son of George, who is currently at Juventus.

However, given the timing of their offers, it appears that a move for either will not be possible, as Portuguese journalist Pedro Sepulveda claims that Benfica are not interested in letting Florentino leave on loan.

Benfica have held off interest this month for Joao Neves and Antonio Silva already, and despite not being a regular starter, Florentino is evidently seen as an important squad player as they continue to fight at the top of the Primeira Liga and in Europe.

Florentino has had two prior loan spells away at Getafe and Monaco, but having made 25 appearances for Roger Schmidt's side this season, he is set to stay at the Estadio da Luz.

Everton's move for Weah has broken down in slightly different fashion, as Ed Aarons of the Guardian claims that the player himself has rejected the move.

Weah is also only a squad player with his club side, having not started any of the previous three Serie A encounters with the Bianconeri, as manager Massimiliano Allegri prefers Andrea Cambiaso in that right wing-back position.

Since joining from Lille in the summer, the US international has struggled to make much of an impact, not helped by the fact he has been playing in a much deeper role than he is accustomed to.

After being more of an attacker with the French club, filling in at right-back on occasion, Weah has strictly been used at right wing-back under Allegri, and his only goal for the club so far came in a 6-1 win against Salernitana in the Coppa Italia.

Time is running out for Everton to add reinforcements, otherwise it will be a second consecutive winter window where they have not added a single player to their squad while being embroiled in a relegation battle.