Martinez - No Key Players Leaving In January
Roberto Martinez says no key players will be leaving Everton for the remainder of this window despite speculation on the futures of a number of players.
John Stones has been linked with Chelsea after the team failed to sign the England centre-back last summer while Manchester City have apparently scoped out Ross Barkley as Yaya Toure's replacement. Martinez has claimed that any talk about players getting evaluations or leaving the club is a waste of time.
He said: "None of our players who have been performing well are going to leave in January. That is the end of the matter. January is not a window where we are going to bring any instability to our squad"
"We are not going to even consider losing a member of our squad who has been important and will be important for second half of the season."
Romelu Lukaku has also been under speculation. The striker is set to make his 100th start for the Toffees on Sunday against Swansea regardless of claims he was due to be sold for £65million.
Lukaku has scored 55 goals in 108 appearances for the blues and has 12 in his last 12 matches. Martinez believes they can keep hold of the Belgium international even after he expressed his interest to play Champions League football.
"It goes hand-in-hand because at Everton we want to play Champions League football, so it is good to have a shared target"
"He wants to score goals and become better. It has been a fantastic journey in the last 13 months. "You have seen an evolution in his play which has been quite magnificent. He is a special footballer for us. "He is on the verge of getting 100 starts for Everton in all competitions and that is an incredible landmark for a 22-year-old"
"I am looking for him to become even better as a player and carry on with the big role he has in the team."
Another player linked with transfers is Lukaku's Belgium team-mate Kevin Mirallas, Martinez believes they will now see the 28-year-old returning to his best form.
He said: "Kevin has always been an important player for us"
"You get those ups and downs sometimes when you pick up a niggle, a red card against Swansea and miss three games and have a couple of international games - that can stop you from having real continuity"
"Kevin is a player who is different from any other player we have in the club and gives us an extra dimension. He is not going anywhere."