Martinez: We will make sure we sign a number 9 before the season starts

Roberto Martinez has gone on record to say that he will make sure that Everton sign the striker that they need before the season starts.

The Spaniard has said that although there are reports that he has been telling reporters that the Romelu Lukaku deal is done, this isn’t the case and the club are still working hard to get the deal across the line

He said: “There have been a lot of reports, some even saying I’ve told people it’s done but the situation is very clear.

“We need a number nine going into the start of the season and we will make sure we sign one.

“If Mo Besic comes through we need another two signings as well before the start of the campaign and one must be a striker.

“Rom created incredible memories we’ll never forget and enjoyed his time at Everton but that doesn’t mean anything between now and the end of the window.

“Everything is in the air and you can imagine there are options on the table. We’ll try to work hard on it.”

“It would be disrespectful for me to speak too much about someone else’s player,” he said.

“I don’t like to see people talking too much about my players. We must be respectful to their registration of players.

“But I can speak about our relationship with Chelsea which that we were delighted with how his loan went and I think they were delighted with how he was treated and developed.

“He developed a big affection with our fans. It was a success. But from this point onwards it’s all speculation.

“You never know when we’ll have a conclusion. At his age and with what he’s capable of we all know he’s someone who will be wanted by many clubs and be a good number nine.

“We will carry on working hard to assemble the strongest squad as possible. We need to make the right decisions between now and the end of the window.”

Speaking of potential new signing Muhamed Besic Martinez added: “We hope things will be wrapped up for Besic soon.

“We have a good relationship with Ferencvaros which has been really open and strong throughout.

“There are certain details that need to be solved and once that’s done we’ll be okay. Mo already feels like part of the squad, it’s been so important for him to travel with us, interact with the squad and get to know us all.

“He trained on Saturday with the team and that was a real positive.

“He’s also getting the right balance of recovering from the World Cup and he’s only 21 but it’s incredible how these bodies recover.”

Martinez also talked about another new signing David Henen who he sees progressing from the under 21’s into the first team – If he puts the work in.

“David is a young man who is someone with a very good future and we want him to be part of our development squad and get into the U21s,” he said.

“He’s had a rapid rise in his early years. He’s only 18 and has attracted a lot of attention but we need to give him a bit of quiet time to allow him to work on his game and develop as a footballer.

“I hope we can complete his signing very, very soon.

“He’s someone we need to protect but I won’t expect him to come straight into the team like Gery (Deulofeu).

“He will go into the U21s and needs games.

“He has real talent with a view of one day making it into the first team but that will be down to him and his hard work.”

Do you think the striker will be Lukaku or a plan B?  Comment below or have your say on our dedicated Everton Forum at www.theevertonforum.com/forum