Everton boss Roberto Martinez is pleased to see Gerard Deulofeu handed the Spain U21 captaincy.

The Everton winger scored five times during the international break as his country won back-to-back Euro 2017 qualifiers against Georgia and Croatia.

“The captaincy has arrived at the right time," Martinez told the Liverpool Echo.

“There are moments when you are captain or need to lead a team, you need to be open to it and show that you can care about others.

“Gerard is a young man and has been through a lot, especially last season, and he is very aware of others.

“Away from the Spain camp, we have seen that here at Everton, a young man with incredible talent who has always been committed to being the best he can be.

“But he also works to be essential to the team and he works as hard as he can to give what the team requires.

“He is really enjoying being on the football pitch and here he is developing relationships around him with Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley and Seamus Coleman. He loves being on the football pitch."