Martinez hopes young diamonds shine

10 December 2014 05:31

Roberto Martinez will showcase the latest "diamonds" to step off Everton's production line in Thursday night's Europa League clash with Krasnodar.

With the Toffees already guaranteed to top Group H and Russians Krasnodar eliminated, Martinez has the rare opportunity to shuffle his pack completely.

He revealed Joel Robles, Christian Atsu, Steven Pienaar, Arouna Kone, Bryan Oviedo, Conor McAleny, Antolin Alcaraz, Tyias Browning and Luke Garbutt will all start along with two unnamed youngsters.

England Under-18 captain Ryan Ledson and fellow 17-year-old Kieran Dowell appear to be the leading contenders, while Martinez is known to also think highly of Liam Walsh, another midfielder.

The Everton boss is keeping the names under wraps to "give them a nice eight hours of sleep" but is excited for the fans to get a glimpse of players who could follow in the footsteps of Wayne Rooney and Ross Barkley.

He said: "It's a game that should be a celebration because with one game to go we're top of the group.

"Obviously Krasnodar has got no opportunity to get through so for us to experiment a little bit with the line-up is important.

"I don't think it devalues the competition at all and it should be a celebration at Goodison of all our experiences in Europe.

"In the case of Arouna Kone and Bryan Oviedo, it's a phenomenal moment for us to have them back and be able to enjoy their football and to be able to start their season.

"Then we're going to have a couple of youngsters that are really exciting. I don't want to mention the names yet but it's going to be really exciting for us as a club to show another two diamonds of our development system and show the good work that everyone is doing at the club in such a fantastic environment and such a fantastic competition.

"It's a really exciting game that I'm sure every Evertonian will look forward to and feel extremely proud of the individuals we're going to have on the pitch."

For striker Kone, who followed Martinez to Goodison Park from Wigan, it will be a chance to play in the first team for the first time in more than a year after a long-standing knee injury.

Oviedo, meanwhile, has started only one match since the broken leg he suffered in January that ruled him out of Costa Rica's World Cup campaign.

Everton have fared significantly better in Europe this season than neighbours Liverpool, who will join them in the Europa League in the new year following their elimination from the Champions League on Tuesday.

That opened up the possibility of the teams meeting later in the competition - sides from the same country are kept apart in the last 32.

"It would be a phenomenal football occasion if that happens," said Martinez. "I'm looking forward to when we meet them at Goodison in the league. Whatever comes, I'm sure it will be welcomed by everyone."

Martinez, meanwhile, insisted there is "no danger whatsoever" of winger Kevin Mirallas leaving the club in January after speculation linking him with a move to Liverpool.

The Belgian has not yet extended the original contract, which runs up to 2016, that he signed on joining the club from Olympiacos in the summer of 2012.

Martinez said: "Kevin Mirallas is on a long-term contract with us. We're delighted with his form, he's delighted with enjoying his football for Everton.

"We always work behind the scenes to try to see if we can extend relationships and we've been talking with Kevin for a long time just because we want to see how he feels about his situation and making sure he feels rewarded and wanted.

"He's quite happy where he is, he just wants to concentrate on his football. That's fine for everyone."

Source: PA