Everton manager Ronald Koeman has confirmed that captain Phil Jagielka will not be leaving the club, ahead of their season opener against Tottenham on Saturday.
Jagielka had been linked with a move David Moyes’ Sunderland, however Koeman moved to quash these rumours in his press conference today.
“He is the captain of the team. I need four good centre backs. There is no way that Jags will leave the club”, stated the former Southampton boss.
Koeman also confirmed that he was hoping to do more transfer business this month, following the arrival of Swansea City captain Ashley Williams earlier this week.
“We have three new signings and we will do business for three or four new players”, he said.
Injuries are likely to play a role in deciding which transfer targets Koeman is likely to pursue, and the Dutchman confirmed that new signing Williams is not match fit to face Tottenham, with injury doubts over Romelu Lukaku and Seamus Coleman.
“He (Williams) will bring leadership and experience but he’s not available for the weekend because he started late after the Euros”, he said.
Everton have been somewhat underwhelming in pre-season, and Koeman also stated that there is still work to be done with the squad for the 2016-17 campaign.
“We are not at the level we need to be in terms of players or physical state. We are 70% of what we need to be physically”, he added.