Roberto Martínez wanted to savour Everton’s first hat-trick of Premier League wins this season and the appearance on his horizon of the 40-point cushion yet the talk centred on a man who played no part. Such is a manager’s lot in a season of struggle or, in this instance, when his record signing and leading goalscorer joins a new agent – sorry, intermediary – synonymous with shifting high-profile clients around Europe.
Romelu Lukaku missed the dogged defeat of Southampton with a hamstring injury but it was not Arouna Koné’s struggle to fill the vacuum that kept the 18-goal Belgian a conversation piece at Goodison Park. Since leaving his long-standing agent Christophe Henrotay last month to join forces with Mino Raiola, the representative of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mario Balotelli among others, the Everton striker has been linked with Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Manchester United. Raiola has made all the links. For good measure he also stated on Friday that Lukaku would never have joined Everton from Chelsea had he been involved in shaping the striker’s career last summer.
“In the modern game you don’t get the values of 25 years ago but when you have a player on a long-term contract there is nothing to discuss. That is straightforward and clear,” Martínez responded on Saturday. “For me there is no issue to have to comment on. It is not as if the player wants to leave or that he is not happy.”
However, Lukaku, along with everyone else at Everton when he arrived on a five-year contract for a club-record £28m, envisaged it would be his employers, not Southampton, eyeing Champions League qualification at Easter. A late surge away from relegation trouble and leading his team in Europe while Martínez’s defence disintegrated behind him was not what the 21-year-old had in mind. The Everton manager says neither he nor his chairman Bill Kenwright has cause to speak to Raiola as the centre-forward will be at Goodison next season.
Martínez added: “My focus is that Rom keeps on developing. Without a doubt we have been the best club for him because he has had his two best seasons as a professional here and we love Romelu. We love having him here and that is why we made such a big commitment in signing him on a long-term contract. You can see the way he has been performing since January. It has been a joy to see him developing.
“There is going to be a lot of talk when you score goals as a striker, you are going to get the attraction of other teams and when you play badly you are going to be criticised for it. From my point of view he is on a long-term contract. The worry would be if his contract would be up in the summer. An agent can say whatever he wants and it is down to everyone else to see what is behind it.”
Without the powerful release of Lukaku at his disposal Martínez did to Southampton what countless teams have done to Everton as they defeated a top-eight side for the first time this term. Against adventurous opponents possessing flying full-backs, the home side sat deep, worked tirelessly, defended diligently and held out comfortably once Phil Jagielka converted Gareth Barry’s cut-back from a Leighton Baines’ corner.
Ronald Koeman’s side, like Everton when faced with an obstinate foe, lacked the creativity to respond, although the complexion of the game would have altered but for two fine first-half saves from Tim Howard to deny Graziano Pellè and James Ward-Prowse.
“If that goes in then it is a totally different game,” said Ward-Prowse of Pellè’s sixth-minute effort that Howard superbly clawed off his goal-line.
“We had a few chances to get in front but the impetus was with them once they got the goal. Once they scored they were happy to sit back and defend, so they were very difficult to break down. They made it very difficult to get on the ball and credit to them.”
Lukaku is not Everton’s only injury worry. Scans have revealed Darron Gibson fractured a metatarsal before the recent international break and the unfortunate midfielder will miss the remainder of the season if it is confirmed he requires surgery. He faces six weeks on the sidelines without an operation.
Man of the match Phil Jagielka (Everton)
