Everton star Mikel Arteta has admitted he would be interested in a move to Atletico Madrid, but not for a while yet.

Arteta has never hidden his desire to return to his homeland at some point in the future and admits he is flattered to be linked with a move to Vicente Calderon.

The former Rangers schemer has played down the prospect of joining Atletico in the near future as he insists he is happy with life at Goodison Park.

"Rumours of interest from Atletico do not displease me, that is for certain," Arteta told AS. "I have already said that they are a special club. Players always identify with certain clubs and I do with Atletico.

"However, right now I have signed a new five-year contract with Everton and I believe it is not the right moment to be thinking about other clubs.

"I am enchanted by the Premier League, the fans have been brilliant to me and I have enjoyed it very much.

"I have played in other leagues like the French and Scottish leagues, and if I was asked if some day I would like to return to play in Spain I would say yes.

"But I will not sacrifice everything that we have put into this project at Everton. I am happy and am not looking to leave."

Arteta has also revealed he has been impressed by former Atletico ace Fernando Torres since his arrival in England.

Torres has been a revelation since his move to Everton's local rivals Liverpool and Arteta believes his fellow Spaniard is enjoying life in the Premier League.

"What I see is that Fernando is very happy, very comfortable," added Arteta.

"He's forgotten everything that was surrounding him in Madrid and now only thinks about what he can do over the 90 minutes in games.

"His form is fabulous and has begun in very good way at Liverpool. It's going perfectly for him, he is learning English and feels important in his team."

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