Gerard Deulofeu tells Roberto Martinez he is impatient and is ready to play

Gerard Deulofeu scored Everton's winner in the Capital One Cup win over Reading

GERARD DEULOFEU has told Roberto Martinez he is impatient to start games for Everton as he waits to see if his wish will be granted against West Brom tonight.

 

The Spanish youngster has been restricted to a series of cameos in the Premier League which have covered just 36 minutes this season and his only started as been in last week's Capital One Cup win over Reading.

Deulofeu, 21, scored the winning goal and is now keen to push on. "The manager had told me to be calm," said Deulofeu, who was recruited from Barcelona in the summer for £4.2m.

 

"That it is a long season and there will be a lot of opportunities to play. I have told him that I want to play now and I hope that I can play a lot more and help the team.

"I need to play more minutes. I want to play more minutes. This, for me, is very important. I find it hard to be on the bench. Like all players, I do not like being a substitute. But I have to wait for my chance and try to take it when it comes." 

Deulofeu spent the 2013-14 season on loan at Everton and last term was parked at Sevilla where his attitude was called into question.

 

It is a pivotal campaign for Deulofeu who must now prove he can adopt a team-first ethos to compliment the natural ability he possesses. 

"The last three months in Sevilla I had did not play a single game, but my physical shape is good and I am ready to play whenever I am needed," said the winger, for whom Barcelona have insisted on a buy-back clause at the end of the 2016-17 season. 

"I am so happy to be back here. One of the most important reasons for coming back was that I had been so happy here during the year I had on loan. I felt at home here, very comfortable. 

"This is my third professional season: a year in Everton, last year at Seville and now back here. I need to be a first team player. I need to play a lot of games and feel important to a team. 

 

"If you have a lot of confidence, I believe everything will be fine."

Martinez, who will check on the fitness of defenders John Stones and Seamus Coleman, insists he has a squad capable of dropping anchor in the top four if they can become more consistent.

"The Southampton performance and the Chelsea performance - that's the level that is needed to get into the Champions League," he said. 

"If you can do that every week you're going to have a great chance to get over 70 points. How many points are going to be needed this season? It's hard to tell. I think it'll be such a close season, you look at the points West Ham have got away from home and Crystal Palace's form, there are many teams who are going to take a lot of points from the so called top four.

"That makes me think 70 points will get you into the top positions."