Everton manager Roberto Martinez has insisted that the club will make Leighton Baines feel the "warmth" of the Merseyside outfit by offering the full-back a new contract.
The Spaniard hinted yesterday that talks will begin with Baines over a new deal following Manchester United's failure to prise him away from Goodison Park in the summer.
Today Martinez reiterated that the England international "deserves" fresh terms due to his vital place in the team and his contribution over the years.
"Leighton is a massively important player for us and the future of the football club. We want to do anything we can to reward that and he deserves the appreciation and deserves to know how we feel about him," Sky Sports News quotes him as saying.
"It's all positive. He's been an outstanding performer for Everton for years and now clearly he's at the peak of his career and we're going to make sure he feels that warmth from the football club and from a contractual point of view exactly the same."
Martinez has also claimed that the sale of Marouane Fellaini to Manchester United was done on Everton's terms.
Danielle Joynson
