While a number of Everton's stars have been away with their countries over the past week, important work at Finch Farm has still been taking place.
Frank Lampard has been happy to see his side implementing some new ideas especially in their recent matches, with solid performances helping to develop a better brand of football all over the pitch. This break from action has provided a good chance to continue working on those themes with a certain band of players, with some getting a great chance to impress.
The manager has never shied away from involving the club's youngsters in his training sessions since he arrived in January. In fact, he's fully embraced it.
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That almost constant work with younger players saw a number of the brightest talents at the club leaving on loan in the summer transfer window - with Tyler Onyango, Lewis Dobbin and Jarrad Branthwaite among those to have secured temporary moves away from Goodison Park.
Their exits, and the absence of those representing their country over the current break, have meant that a new crop of youngsters have been able to step into the limelight in recent first team training sessions. They might not be ready for senior action just yet, but this could be an important glimpse for Lampard on what the future might hold.
Taking a look at the most recent set of images from Finch Farm and the behind-the-scenes video that was released on the club's YouTube channel last week showed Paul Tait bringing a lot of his squad up to the first team session to train with their peers.
The footage and pictures seem to show that something of a practice match was played, with members of the under-21 squad taking on those players who were still at Finch Farm from the first team. Not only was this a great chance for the youngsters to test themselves at a senior level, but it was also an opportunity to catch the eye of Lampard.
Some, such as Stanley Mills, have already taken that step in recent weeks and months and have already shown the manager what they're all about. He particularly played a number of times for the senior side in pre-season and impressed while playing slightly out-of-position in a right wing-back role.
Players such as Elijah Campbell and Charlie Whitaker, both highly-rated behind-the-scenes at Finch Farm, have also been fairly regular sights in senior training too. The latter even joined Dobbin in breaking into Premier League squads for a time at the beginning of the 2021/22 campaign after an impressive pre-season tour of the USA last summer.
However, for others, it was an opportunity that doesn't come around often. Some of the younger and less experienced members of Tait's squad will have taken some real experience out of their time with the first team.
Mathew Mallon, an exciting young right-back who signed his first professional deal with the club in the summer, stepped up to join fellow U21s full-back Kyle John for the session. Perhaps one of them might have done enough to force their way into Lampard's thinking while Nathan Patterson is sidelined through injury.
Tom Cannon has enjoyed an impressive start to the campaign under Tait and could well have his eyes on a place on the senior bench soon, if not a potential loan in January if James Vaughan sees fit. Meanwhile, fellow forward Katia Kouyate can also be seen in the latest set of images as he continues his progression and looks to cement a more regular place for the U21s in the future.
Halid Djankpata is another very exciting talent in the club's ranks, this time as a central midfielder. So far this term the 17-year-old's time has been split between the under-18s and the level above as he looked to make that next step of his progression, and no doubt being involved in even a practice match against senior opponents will be a great way for him to learn some crucial tools he needs to progress.
Having Tait as his manager in the U21s, someone he has already worked very closely with in his former role, will no doubt be a benefit as well - and that's testament to the changes that have taken place behind-the-scenes.
Joe Anderson, Mackenzie Hunt, Sebastian Quirk and Billy Crellin all stepped up to take part in the session this week as well. Earlier in the month, Ishe Samuels-Smith was pictured as part of the first team group.
The hope is that all this can be a real sign of the joined-up thinking between all levels of the club. Kevin Thelwell has worked hard to acquire the likes of Gareth Prosser and Carl Darlington to help the academy progress as a whole and make sure Everton can produce the talents that fans are desperate to see.
Lampard and his staff have always had their importance in this sense highlighted too. They are the ones that need to be impressed, but they're also the group that will be handing out opportunities such as this.
This is far from the first time that youngsters have had the opportunity to impress at senior level, and it certainly won't be the last. Will this be the first step that some might look back on for their quest for first team football? That's yet to be seen.
It is, however, great to see chances like this being made readily available for the academy. Everyone wants the whole club to be a success, and this is an important aspect of that.
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