“After the season I had a meeting with the board of the club and the first option was to go into my third and a year ago of my contract, and that was not possible”, he said.
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But Koeman, speaking at his first press conference since taking the reins, is hopeful that the pair, now at Euro 2016, can be convinced that their immediate futures lie at Goodison Park.
Ronald Koeman was unveiled as the new Everton manager on Friday with an assurance to supporters that will try to persuade the club’s best young players to stay.
“To be involved in this great big project for the next couple of years is fantastic and a big feeling”.
“Everybody knows the history of Everton”.
“It is a big history and it is nice to be part of that, to win, to play European Cup football, to win titles”.
“I like to help everybody and of course you sometimes have something more because he played in the same position as me”.
Everton fans want to see their team fight during games, not just accept losses.
What are your thoughts on Koeman and what he said today?
He added: “Everybody is hungry – the people at the club and the fans – to put Everton back to where we were. That’s good and we will do everything to take the next step”.
First of all, like everybody, we want to keep these key players because you don’t sell your best players. Southampton gave me permission to talk to Everton and now I am the new EFC manager.
Koeman did not discount the possibility of looking to bring in some of the players with whom he worked at Southampton.
Everybody at Everton is ready to take that next step towards success and Koeman said he is “one of them”. I had that experience in my last two years always a lot of interest in the players.
Koeman sat down at Finch Farm with Everton chairman Bill Kenwright to speak the gathered media and answer a whole host of questions. I then got a proposal from Southampton and in my opinion, it was not what I liked to see.
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Kenwright said: “He is very much the choice of the board and I’ve seldom felt such unanimity in the fanbase for a signing”.
