Roberto Martinez has said that he plans to keep Tim Howard as his first choice

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has said that he plans to keep Tim Howard as his first choice goalkeeper next season as well.

The former Manchester United man has been a regular at Everton since moving to the Merseyside outfit almost a decade ago. However, at 36 years he is approaching the end of his career. There have been suggestions that Everton will look to building towards the future by signing a new and young goalkeeper. The recent high-profile mistakes made by Howard have certainly not helped his cause, but Martinez has stated that he retains 100% faith in the American international.

There have been reports linking Howard with a return to North American football due to his recent inconsistent performances. The 36-year-old was immensely praised during the World Cup 2014, but his performance levels have since dipped. Howard has already stated that he plans to retire from football once his current contract with Everton expires in the summer of 2018. This will also coincide with the World Cup 2018 in Russia and Howard is expected to end his international career as well. For the time being, he can safely stay between the sticks knowing that his place is not under threat.

Everton will be going into the next season with four goalkeepers on their books. "We have Tim Howard, Joel Robles, Jindrich Stanek and Russell Griffiths. They're going to be the four goalkeepers we'll work with next season. We're really strong in that position. We've sat down. But we haven't had the opportunity to go into real details with figures. I think that where we are now, we have the idea of becoming very strong next season. We want to use this campaign to build for success next season.We need to keep hold of all the good performers we've had this campaign,” said Martinez.