LIVERPOOL -- New Everton signing Matty Foulds is a rare talent who will be given a "clear path" to the first team at Goodison Park, manager Roberto Martinez says.
Foulds will join the Toffees in January after a £225,000 deal was agreed with League Two side Bury.
The 17-year-old has made only two senior appearances in cup competitions for his current club, for whom he has yet to make his league debut.
Martinez, though, feels that Foulds' potential -- and his ability as a left-footed central defender -- make him worth the investment.
He said: "Matty Foulds is a left-footed centre half. Straight away, that is a difficult profile to find in world football at the moment. He is the sort of player we have been seeking for a long time.
"Matty is a boy with all the attributes to be a very good defender, and to be a footballing centre-half.
That's very important in terms of the way we want to play."
BREAKING: Everton have agreed a deal for @buryfcofficial defender Matty Foulds: https://t.co/WBegJFHrdf pic.twitter.com/ZWazjYiHGQ
- Everton (@Everton) November 19, 2015
Everton have a strong recent history of bringing in young players from English lower-division clubs and developing them into first-team players; with Brendan Galloway arriving from MK Dons after John Stones was brought in from Barnsley.
Mason Holgate, also signed from Barnsley, is another defender looking to push for Everton's first team, and the plan is for Foulds to be doing the same within the next two years.
Martinez added: "At the age of 17, maybe we've gone a little bit younger, just because he's ahead of his development.
"The relationship we've got with Bury has been very important in order to find out a lot about Matty's character, and the way he is as a footballer.
"We feel really excited. He's going to join us in January, with a clear path, and a clear programme for him to have a really good opportunity. We are all very much looking forward to seeing Matty."
Meanwhile, Martinez insists that Gerard Deulofeu is "at home" at Everton, playing down the suggestion that the winger could return to Barcelona.
Deulofeu joined Everton from the Spanish champions on a three-year contract in July, but it included a buy-back clause of €9 million -- around £6.3m -- which can be activated at the end of this season.
The 21-year-old has declared that he is happy at Goodison Park, where he spent the 2013-14 season on loan from Barca.
When he returned to Camp Nou, his hopes of establishing himself in the first team there were dashed went he was sent out to Sevilla on loan for the season.
Having completed that stint and now returned to Goodison Park on a permanent deal, Deulofeu is thriving, scoring two goals and providing eight assists this season.
Martinez said: "Gerard made a very conscious decision of wanting to join us. He wanted to come back to Everton. He wasn't coming back to the unknown. He knew exactly what he was coming back to.
"The first day that he arrived at Goodison, he had a big smile on his face. He felt right. I think that happens. As a player, you walk into a football club and you've got your doubts or you feel safe. Gerry had that feeling.
"Once he got the fans around him, he felt that he was back home.
"For a player of his natural talent, you need to have that sort of emotion around you in order to perform. That's why we've seen Gerard Deulofeu growing, and clearly, the best is yet to come."