Sean Dyche is planning to get to more Under-21s games as he continues to assess some of Everton's most talented youngsters.
Opportunities in the first team matchday squad have been limited since the new manager's appointment but Dyche is keen to learn more about what those on the fringe of the senior team have to offer. Several players, including Stanley Mills, have retained the place in first team training at Finch Farm that former manager Frank Lampard granted them and Dyche said that, so far, they are "handling themselves very well".
Dyche's priority is to protect Everton's top flight status and he named five experienced defenders on his nine-player bench against Aston Villa rather than include youth players that may have given him more options. But he is set to step up his knowledge of those below the first team in the coming weeks.
READ MORE: Everton star Dwight McNeil dismisses 'bizarre' claims of Sean Dyche fallout
READ MORE: Dominic Calvert-Lewin 'recovery' latest as Sean Dyche gives triple Everton injury update
Ellis Simms is the only player from the current academy set up to have featured in Dyche's first team plans so far, the 22-year-old starting against Liverpool as the Blues boss explored his limited striking options in his opening games. Recalled from a loan spell with Sunderland in the new year, Simms was essentially the only addition to the first team in January.
His seven goals in the Championship is more than twice the number of league goals any of his Blues teammates have recorded during this campaign. Dyche has few options ahead of Simms, particularly with Dominic Calvert-Lewin's fitness troubles continuing to persist, and so the forward will have every opportunity to force his way into the starting XI.
Beyond that the likes of Stanley Mills, who has shot to prominence over the course of an exceptional eight months for the U21s and Isaac Price, the central midfielder whose displays in the Sydney Super Cup before Christmas pushed him to the cusp of consistent first team involvement, are yet to be involved in a Dyche matchday squad - though they have travelled with the first team on Premier League matchdays this month. Both were handed first team minutes by Lampard earlier this season.
Price, who made his first Premier League appearance at the Emirates when Everton faced Arsenal in the final game of last season, is out of contract at the end of the season and the teenager's future Everton future is in doubt as the summer approaches. While Dyche has placed his initial focus on experience, he is committed to assessing those seeking to move into his first team plans. He has spoken with in-form centre back Jarrad Branthwaite, currently on loan at PSV Eindhoven.
He had not had the opportunity to research Tom Cannon at Preston before his first competitive goal at senior level at the weekend. The teenage striker was also handed first team minutes by Lampard, who accelerated the progression of Cannon, Price and Mills, but is unavailable to Dyche until the expiration of his loan deal at the Championship club.
Dyche has been spotted at a series of Premier League matches while on scouting missions ahead of Everton's upcoming fixtures but he does plan to add youth games to his itinerary. He attended the U21s' match with Tottenham Hotspur in February. That was primarily to watch James Garner and Nathan Patterson as they continue their comebacks from long-term injury but Dyche is lining up more potential dates.
He said: "I'm learning about them [youth players] as I go. That's why I went to the game and I will try and get to a few when I can to take in what that group is about and I am speaking with the coaches as well.
"Obviously we have been full on at the minute laying down what we think is right for the first team squad, which they have been part of, but also drifting down through the club and getting to know the coaches, getting to know the players, so that is on an ongoing basis. But there is certainly a couple that have been with us most of the time in the main first team group and so far they are handling themselves very well."
READ NEXT
Ollie Watkins makes Everton atmosphere admission after Aston Villa win
-
Former Everton man with Premier League ambitions hoping for Wembley redemption
- No Bill Kenwright but theatre at Everton with man who could have been Farhad Moshiri's first choice
- Sean Dyche names Everton signing who is 'growing back into a very good player'
- Everton analysis - Sean Dyche may have to play wildcard as board put 'golden thread' in danger
