LIVERPOOL -- Everton manager Roberto Martinez insists he has no regrets over missing out on Tom Cleverley, saying the deal "wasn't right" for the club.
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Martinez made a move to sign the midfielder from Manchester United on transfer deadline day, but the two clubs could not agree terms.
Instead, the 25-year-old joined Aston Villa on a season's loan, but Martinez believes his squad is still strong enough as they prepare to start a run of seven matches in 23 days across three competitions, starting with Saturday's Premier League trip to West Bromwich Albion.
Martinez explained: "On the last day of the window, there are always opportunities that arise. We looked into a couple of those. I would never be disrespectful in talking about players who are not on our books, but that's the nature of the window.
"With the one you mention [Cleverley], I felt there was an opportunity for us to add a player who could bring something different. But at the end, it wasn't right. It didn't work out. And at the end, I was very pleased that we had all of the business done well ahead of the transfer deadline.
"We tried to look into a couple of opportunities, but they never came off, and the reality is that they probably weren't the right ones for us."
Striker Romelu Lukaku is expected to recover from a toe injury that forced him to miss Belgium's friendly against Australia last week.
But midfielder Leon Osman, who has a calf injury, and forward Samuel Eto'o, who is struggling with a groin problem sustained in scoring on his debut against Chelsea on Aug. 30, face late fitness tests,
Left-back Bryan Oviedo and striker Arouna Kone both had run-outs in a behind-closed-doors friendly during the international break, but neither are yet match fit as they recover from long-term injuries. Oviedo broke his leg in January and Kone suffered knee ligament damage last October.
Midfielder Steven Pienaar, meanwhile, is back in training after suffering a groin injury during the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Aug. 23.
And England midfielder Ross Barkley is ahead of schedule in his recovery from the knee injury he sustained in training on Aug. 15, and could be back next month.
Martinez said: "Ross is progressing well, but he's still receiving treatment. He's in week four of his recovery now. He's probably a couple of weeks ahead of where he should be, but he's still only halfway through his recovery period."
Everton visit West Brom looking to tighten up a defence that has conceded 10 goals in their opening three league games. Centre-backs Phil Jagielka, 32, and Sylvain Distin, 36, struggled badly in the 6-3 home defeat against Chelsea, but the manager insists that age is not an issue for his defenders.
He said: "Age is never a problem. Experience is always a positive thing. When you've got a player who, for whatever reason, cannot reach the levels required, it's not down to age. Every player has a different age at which the legs start to go. That's not the case with any of our players at all.
"Our attacking play has improved from last season. Scoring the two goals from open play that we got against Chelsea shows how we are developing into a really strong team going forward.
"I think it's quite easy to see that we've been a little bit slack in our defensive duties, and we've been punished too easily. We've conceded too many easy goals.
"It's something that we need to correct, but I do see a team who have improved from where we were last season, even if the results are not as good as they should have been."