Everton manager Roberto Martinez pleased with Christian Atsu's form at Nations Cup

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Image caption Christian Atsu

Roberto Martinez is pleased to see Ghana and Christian Atsu qualify for the African Cup of Nations quarter-finals – even though it means the Everton boss will be without the winger for Saturday’s clash with Crystal Palace.

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Atsu put in a man of the match performance in the Black Stars’ 2-1 victory over South Arica on Tuesday - a result which set up a last-eight clash against Guinea on Sunday.

Ghana’s opponents were determined by the unusual method of drawing lots after Guinea and Mali had finished with identical records in Group D having drawn all three pool matches 1-1.

Atsu has played in all three of Ghana’s games at the tournament and Martinez believes the on-loan Chelsea man will eventually return to Finch Farm having benefitted significantly from a lot of football in a short space of time.

Martinez said: “We all felt that Christian has been developing and growing a lot, even though he hasn’t been able to play a lot of games [for Everton]. We’ve seen his progress and how he is adapting with everything he does in training, so it was no surprise to see him doing so well against South Africa.

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“He did really well with a team that was under massive pressure with the expectations that they have. Losing the first game put them in a situation where there was no room for mistakes.

“On Tuesday, after going 1-0 down, Christian performed at a high level. We are excited for him, even though that means he is going to be away longer.

“I have always been very excited about Christian having a really strong second half of the season and I think the proof is the way he has been playing with Ghana.”