Roberto Martinez revealed he was a confirmed admirer of Ricky van Wolfswinkel after Norwich City's club-record signing denied the Toffees' boss a debut day Premier League win.

The Spaniard was left to rue one lapse of concentration from his backline which allowed the Dutchman to escape Phil Jagielka's close attentions to despatch Steven Whittaker's sliced shot to cap a frenetic second-half spell.

'I thought his movement was very, very good but I thought we kept him really quiet throughout the game,' said Martinez. 'For him to score that chance shows you that he has a real sense of being in the right place at the right time. Time will tell how successful he is at Norwich but to score in your first game for a new club is a wonderful way to start his career and unfortunately that was at our expense. As a striker when you get very few chances and you take one then it speaks volumes of yourself. For a striker as well in a new club scoring on your debut is very important.'

Martinez was convinced Everton's control of possession and territory should have laid the foundations to a Carrow Road victory.

'I'm sure Norwich fans will see it in a different manner but from a neutral point of view we deserved the three points and we did enough to get them,' he said. 'We conceded two soft goals and that is an area we need to improve and get better. I was very pleased with the chances we created. Norwich at Carrow Road are a difficult unit to break down. We could speak about the performance which I am delighted with; in the way we applied ourselves, the way we always tried to do the right thing and we never got too anxious when we were one goal down.

'We scored two magnificent goals from open play and created another two great chances against a Norwich side which is very defensively organised. On the other hand we conceded two goals which was probably not a reflection of the attacking intent Norwich put in and that is something we need to improve on.'

England Under-21 starlet Ross Barkley justified his growing reputation within the game with a thunderous left-foot strike to cancel out Whittaker's opener.

'Many people will speak about the quality of his goal but that's what he does all the time in training,' said Martinez. 'It was a mature performance from a young man. I have seen throughout pre-season that Ross is ready to help the team and he had the opportunity here. But I am more impressed with his overall contribution to the team. His performance was full of understanding, full of hard work and the goal fitted with that performance.

'It is raw talent and we need to keep helping him. I thought tactically he was outstanding. You want as many players who can give you something special and scoring goals is the hardest thing in football. Ross has got that talent and we have a few throughout the squad, which is important for the competition.'

Martinez believes the teenager can have a major role at Goodison Park this season.

'What impresses me about Ross is he wants to learn and he wants to listen,' he said. 'He is clearly someone who wants to develop and to have someone with that ability at that age is an incredible asset for us.

'He has been at Everton a long time. He has had his problems in the past with injuries, but his attitude is first class. He is very capable from a tactical point of view in terms of what he needs to be effective. Some talented players don't have that understanding and they can become a liability. Probably since coming to the club that is the biggest surprise I have had with him.'