91Èȱ¬

Everton boss Roberto Martinez says Gerard Deulofeu is a "unique talent" after the teenage midfielder helped engineer a 4-0 thrashing of Stoke.

The 19-year-old, who is on loan from Barcelona, scored one goal and was involved in two others on his first Premier League start.

"He is one of the most talented footballers in Spanish football," said Martinez.

"You can see why we worked so hard to attract him to the club."

Victory over Stoke moved Everton to fourth in the Premier League table.

And it extended their unbeaten home record in 2013, with Martinez's side facing trips to Manchester United and Arsenal in the coming week.

Martinez said that Deulofeu, who is on a season-long loan from the Spanish champions, has been on his radar for a long time.

"He is quite a unique talent," the Everton boss added. "The moment he made his Barcelona debut against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu aged 16 is when he caught my attention.

"There was a long list trying to take Gerard on loan and the fact he wanted to come to Everton was a fantastic feeling.

"We always knew it would take a little bit of time for him to get used to the physicality of the British league. He showed in the last two performances he is getting ready, that he wants to help the team, and I was very pleased in the manner that he did that."

Martinez also lauded Bryan Oviedo, who - in the absence of injured left-back Leighton Baines - made his first Premier League start since November 2012.

The Costa Rican full-back scored his first Everton goal and set up striker Romelu Lukaku for his ninth goal in eight Premier League games.

Martinez told 91Èȱ¬ Sport: "Bryan had to bide his time and work in a professional manner to take his opportunity and that was probably the most satisfying individual performance that we had. To have player that had to wait so long to play and do it in that manner shows the strength of the squad."

Martinez, who rested Kevin Mirallas and Ross Barkley after the thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool last weekend, said he wanted to freshen up his squad in order to maintain the same intensity seen in the Liverpool derby.

But he would not be drawn on his side's Champions League qualification chances, adding: "It was important we got the three points, because the previous three results now become significant but it's really early to look at the table."