Martinez at ease over midfielder deal.


Roberto Martinez says James McCarthy will be rewarded with improved terms and has highlighted his importance to the Everton squad.

The Goodison Park boss was speaking about the 23-year-old midfielder after handing John Stones a new five-year contract in the latest move by the club to tie down its young talent.

McCarthy was an instant success after Everton paid Wigan £13m for him to follow Martinez last summer, making 34 appearances and scoring once.

Manchester United are believed to have been sniffing around the Republic of Ireland international with rumours in the media of an impending bid, but the Toffees boss says an agreement on enhanced terms for McCarthy is still in the pipeline, He said:

"It will be natural. James's contract is already performance related so the longer that he plays he gets a bigger reward."

"We will always be looking at rewarding players as they do well and James, clearly, is one of those. "We always wan