Wednesday 12 October 2016 11:41, UK
Oumar Niasse has insisted he will not give up on his Premier League dream despite being cast into exile by Ronald Koeman at Everton.
Roberto Martinez signed the Senegalese international from Lokomotiv Moscow in January for £13.5m, but he made just two starts - and failed to complete 90 minutes - in the five months before Martinez's departure in the summer.
Despite being frozen out of the Goodison first-team picture completely by Koeman, Niasse is convinced he can still make his name in England.
Niasse told The Guardian: "It's sad, it's really sad. And, to be honest, I think that I don't deserve this.
"But what I can do is just keep my head and fight to change things. I'm not going to make a drama over this. I just deal with it. I know that it's just one period.
"I'm in the dressing-room with the U23s but I don't have a locker.
"The other players have [a place] where they put their stuff but I don't. I come with my bag and I just have a place that I know. I put my bag down, I train and after, I put everything in my car and go home.
"Koeman said: 'You have to leave'. I couldn't understand how that decision could have been made after 45 minutes but I just said: 'OK, thank you'. It's his decision. He's the manager. What can I do?"
Niasse had offers over the summer from Germany, Spain, Portugal and Turkey but he is determined to prove he has what it takes to succeed in England.
He said: "I want to show myself in the Premier League and I hope it can be at Everton, because it's the team that I'm feeling. Every weekend, I'm watching the games, I'm supporting the team, I'm behind them. I'm a blue.
"But, if I get the opportunity to show what I can do at another Premier League team, I will go and I will do it. You never know what can happen. This is football."
