Marten de Roon has confessed that he does not intend to stick around at Middlesbrough, claiming that he is on track to join a top-four-chasing side in the Premier League.
The 25-year-old joined the Smoggies from Atalanta last summer in a club-record £12m deal and has appeared in 21 of their 24 top-flight outings this term.
De Roon admits that he is not yet at the level to justify a spot in one of English football's elite sides, but believes that Everton - who head to the Riverside Stadium next weekend - is a possible destination for him in the future.
"I am incredibly lucky - I play for a good club and live in a nice area - but I am ambitious as well," he is quoted as saying by The Sun. "I won't get to play for Manchester City, or another club among the top five in England.
"But I do think that I can develop myself to the level needed to play for a club like Everton. But there is a long way for me to go. I first need to become the best player at Middlesbrough - that is the next step for me.
"There is a mighty atmosphere at Goodison Park. But I've had goosebumps at Bournemouth as well, and the noise levels at the Riverside Stadium are superb."
De Roon, who has also previously represented Sparta Rotterdam and Heerenveen at senior level, has scored three goals for Boro in all competitions this term.
Daniel Lewis
