Martinez: No Arsenal move for McCarthy

Everton boss Roberto Martinez stressed he has had no contact from Arsenal regarding James McCarthy and is looking forward to seeing the midfielder stay with the Toffees “for a long, long time”.

Fresh stories linking Ireland star McCarthy with a move away from Goodison Park have emerged over the last few days, this time with the Gunners said to be interested in signing him in January.

Additionally, it has been suggested Everton are trying to tie the 24-year-old, who they recruited from Wigan for £13m on a “long-term deal” in September 2013, to a new contract in a bid to ward off the interest. But speaking ahead of tonight’s Premier League home clash with Hull, Martinez emphasised Arsenal had not been in touch.

The Spaniard added: “James is someone we rate very highly, otherwise you wouldn’t have seen the sort of investment we made on him.

“We are delighted with his form and I’ve always believed he is a typical Everton player, can grow and can get better. He has a long-term contract and it was a huge investment.

“I always enjoy seeing good reports on our players, and I see the potential interest or the good compliments that can be paid towards James from the outside. But he is a player we look forward to seeing in the Everton top for a long, long time.”

McCarthy has been out of action nursing a hamstring problem, as has Toffees forward Steven Naismith, and both will undergo late fitness tests prior to tonight’s match.

Martinez rates Naismith as having an “outside chance” of featuring, but is expecting the game will come too soon for McCarthy.

Of McCarthy, Martinez said: “He has showed good signs and we will continue to keep an eye on him.”

Midfielder Darron Gibson (knee) will not be involved and it remains to be seen whether defender Bryan Oviedo and forward Arouna Kone might after both played and scored in an Under-21s fixture on Monday as they continued to work towards match fitness.

Hull boss Steve Bruce, however, feels the current tight nature of the early relegation battle bodes well for his side.

Bruce said: “Four points separate 10 or 11 clubs so when it’s like that, you’re all in it.

“I’ve always said you need 10 wins. At the moment, going into December, we’ve only got two so we’ve got a bit of catching up to do.”