Everton manager Roberto Martinez admits it would be nice to retain all of his promising players but is well aware that is a fantasy in today's modern age.

The likes of John Stones, Ross Barkley, James McCarthy and Romelu Lukaku are four players you can build a squad around and although Martinez would love to do that, he knows that Premier League rivals are circling.

Impressive centre-back Stones is a target for Chelsea, as is midfielder Barkley who is also on Manchester City's radar, while McCarthy has attracted interest from Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham.

Of the quartet, Martinez said: "Those four together you can imagine are better players than they were 10 months ago just because of the experiences we have been through.

"I've seen as a manager how they react and face adversity, they became men over six months.

"So I know the benefits are there. But as a football club, from window to window, we need to have a better squad and it's not down to individuals.

"I don't want to sell the dream, 'Oh, we need to keep these players', because that's not modern football.

"If you are going to lose a player as a club you need to become stronger at the end of it by investing the money well and the recruitment needs to be right.

"I feel excited about those players coming through but that doesn't mean we put all the future on those four young players staying at the club."