Martinez: Loan players allow us to freshen up the squad
Roberto Martinez has stressed the importance of bringing loan players in to Goodison Park as it allows him to freshen up the squad and cover for injured players short-term.
Martinez has brought in Gareth Barry from Manchester City, Gerard Deulofeu from Barcelona, Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea and is on the verge of sealing Lacina Traore from AS Monaco.
“Remember that the loan market will always be important for us,” explained Martinez. “Having three or four players on loan gives you something fresh.
“They have a point to prove and they give you a real sharpness on what we have in the squad.
“We already have a stability with the core of the squad – and remember that we have long-term injuries in the likes of Darron Gibson and Arouna Kone and they need replacing in the short-term. Those two players were going to be important this season and they’re going to be important in the long run.
“But I think the loan market is very very important if you use it correctly and you use the right characters, and clearly we have that.”
“If you have a very long-term loan, let’s say two years or three years, players may respond differently because they will always have that safety net of the parent club,” he explained.
“But short-term – for example a season – a loan player has no margin for error. He has to impress people, he has to perform well and the reality is that in that season your future could change drastically – so it’s a great situation to be in.
“If you get the right characters, the right talent, it’s a win-win situation for everyone.
“But the loan system only works if you have a strong and successful core and that’s what we’ve got at Everton.”
Martinez stressed the importance of also sending players the other way and Everton currently have a high number of young players on loan at league clubs and abroad. He explained that it allows the young players to play competitive football in front of proper football fans.
Martinez added: “They give players direction and make it very easy for a loan player to come in and understand the standards and what’s needed and then take that direction into helping the team.
“When you haven’t got that strong core of senior players who set standards, then the loan players can find it difficult and can react to adversity in a negative way, as I mentioned earlier, always looking back to the parent club.
“But that’s not the case with us
“We are very committed, we are very much a group and we aspire to achieve something this season.
“Everyone is vitally important here until the end of the campaign, whether they are in a three year contract, in a six-year contract or on a loan.”
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