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Mo Besic admits his Goodison future is out of his hands saying: “It's up to Everton”.

The 25-year-old put in a man-of-the-match performance against Lille last night as the Blues opened their Algarve Football Cup account with a defeat on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

Marco Silva is set to start wielding the axe on his squad this week but gave Besic a 90 minute chance to impress in the all-important No6 position against the French side.

The Blues are believed to have already had enquiries for the Bosnian and though Besic wants to stay at the club, and work with a manager who's style of play “suits me a lot”, he concedes it is down to Everton.

Asked if he felt he had impressed Silva, Besic told the ECHO: “I don't know, you have to ask him.

“But you saw the game, everybody saw the game, I'm confident in my quality after two years that was a difficult spell and it was just a matter of time until my quality came out.”

“I'm happy, I'm happy just to be back but we will see what will happen,” he added.

“I don't know, it is not in my hands.”

Besic has made only 18 appearances for Everton in the past two seasons.

The £4m signing picked up knee injury during the summer of 2016 which kept him sidelined for almost the entire campaign before he returned to the side last season but found himself way down the pecking order.

A January loan move to Championship side Middlesbrough was vital, Besic says, to help him get back to full fitness after a tough period.

“The two years have been very difficult,” he said.

“The injury I thought would be easier but it is a very difficult injury, your body responds differently, your knee is not the same, you are a little bit slower in everything.

“So the Middlesbrough loan was really good for me, I played a lot of games. Even when there I didn't always play well but I had to come through this spell of time.”

Besic wants to stay at Everton and play under Silva because he is convinced the Portuguese manager can bring the best out of him.

“The coach wants us to dictate the game, he wants us to press. We did ok tonight but we can do better,” he said.

“He is a completely different coach to any I've had before. He wants us to dictate, he wants us to press, keep the ball, dictate the game and I enjoy it a lot with this coach.

“I like this style a lot, this is my style of football and I think this suits me most.”

But Besic, who has just under three years left on his contract, knows he may not get the chance to work with Silva for much longer.

“If everybody is honest, they know how I can play because of my first two seasons,” the midfielder said.

(Image: Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)

“Like I say, it was difficult to come back, I was just not the same. So I don't think I have anything to prove I just need to come back and play like I played before.”

He concluded: “You know I love the club and the fans, everything.

“But it's up to Everton what will happen, I don't know.”