Martinez: Perfect Baptism

Roberto Martinez reckons Saturday’s Merseyside Derby could be the perfect baptism for Aaron Lennon.

Martinez: “It’s not going to faze him,”

“We need to see where he is physically and his match fitness.

“He’s played a lot of games so far this season, to be involved in 17 games in this half of the season is a good return, and this is the sort of game he will look forward.

“It is the perfect baptism in our club to go into the Merseyside derby is a really interesting start.”

“He has terrific pedigree, terrific experience and real good understanding of the league and he’s going to have an impact straight away,

“He is someone who you don’t realise has the amount of experience he has already accumulated and he still at a very good age.

“He’s already experienced two World Cups with England and he brings something really important to our squad straight away and he is very much a welcome addition.

“He has already reached huge landmarks in the Premier League and being able to adapt to different ways of playing.

“He’s had a very interesting experience from that point of view but for us he is someone who can play on both wings with a lot of power and a lot of pace. He has incredible ball control, he has high speed and is someone who will fit in really well at Goodison and our fans will see a player that can take people on, that can be really exciting and is one of those players that gives you the impression that something is going to happen.”