Everton manager Roberto Martinez says he will wait until the summer before deciding on the future’s of five Everton stars who will be out of contract.
The contracts of Darron Gibson, Tony Hibbert, Felipe Mattioni, Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar will all expire at the end of the season and, as of yet, they’ve not held discussions with the club about possible extensions.
All five men are not regular first-team players and are seemingly surplus to requirements at Goodison Park so it is doubtful that any of them will be asked to stay, but Martinez told the Liverpool Echo that he won’t make any decisions until the end of the season.
He said:
At the moment we have five players out of contract at the end of the season and every individual situation is going to be managed once the season ends,”
There is no change in that. There were the things we had to do this season, some players had triggers in their contracts and that has been done.
Now we need to focus on the football side, see how good we can be in the next 10 games in the league and see how far we can go in the FA Cup. That is a team period.
We will then have the moment to talk with individuals.
Gibson has suffered with injuries since his arrival at the club but has shown glimpses of quality.
Hibbert has also been injured for the majority of the current campaign but is nearing a return.
Osman has often been an unused substitute whilst Pienaar has only just got back to fitness.
Meanwhile, Mattioni was allowed to join Doncaster Rovers on loan and does not look to be in Martinez’s plans.
