Everton’s Roberto Martínez not seeking more striking or creative options

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jan/29/everton-roberto-martinez-striking-creative-options

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Roberto Martínez has denied he is risking Everton’s prospects of recovery by trusting Arouna Koné to replace Samuel Eto’o and admits the club are unlikely to increase their creative options in the transfer window.

Eto’o joined Sampdoria this week after only five months at Goodison Park and the Everton manager does not anticipate signing a replacement before Monday’s deadline. Ideally Martínez would address the poor supply to Everton’s remaining strikers by securing cover for the injured Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar but he claims an adequate replacement is not available. In attack he is prepared to proceed with Koné and Romelu Lukaku as Everton’s only established forwards despite the team’s precarious position four points above the relegation zone.

Koné has started only four games and scored one goal for Everton since arriving from Wigan Athletic in July 2013 due to a complex knee ligament injury but he is now fit.

Martínez said: “I don’t feel we need someone to replace Samuel in that position. We are strong in that department with Romelu and Arouna and we are not looking at this window to find solutions. The work we did in the summer was to get a squad strong enough to deal with all competitions.

“It is not a risk, not if you look at the amount of games that Samuel played in the last three or four weeks. Romelu is a young man and fully fit. Arouna is very strong at the minute. Any player can get injured. You don’t assemble squads thinking about the worst situation. We also have Kevin Mirallas and Steven Naismith who can play in those roles. I am quite happy with the players we have got for those positions.”

James McCarthy, Darron Gibson and Sylvain Distin are in contention for Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace having recovered from injury during Everton’s recent warm-weather training camp in Qatar. But Osman and Pienaar are likely to remain sidelined for several weeks and Martínez believes their intelligence up front has been sorely missed.

“It is not the right market for what we could do with,” he said. “Leon and Steven are a different type in terms of what they give us but I don’t think there’s anyone out there [to replace them]. As for a new keeper, Tim [Howard] is recovering really well from injury and could be back for the derby [on 7 February] so I will wait until Monday to see how he has reacted. But it is a position we need to address for the long term.”

Martínez insisted the controversy over Mirallas’s penalty against West Bromwich Albion, when the Belgium international insisted on taking the spot kick instead of the designated Leighton Baines, had been “dealt with internally”.

However, he said Mirallas “didn’t have anything to apologise for”. The Everton manager explained: “Kevin has given us so much that it is very unfair to pick on him. It was not indiscipline. We are making a meal out of missing a penalty. I don’t like people arguing on the pitch. That doesn’t help the penalty-taker. The issue that has been addressed is that, from now, there has to be a quick decision. Leighton will take the next penalty because Kevin missed. If he had scored, I would have left it open for them.”