Everton have an impressive record of bringing through young talent but who might be the next breakout star to emerge for the Blues?
Three members of the ECHO sportsdesk have had their say on who Sean Dyche could call upon when it comes to youthful prospects at the club.
Chris Beesley - Tom Cannon
Everton are of course in need of additional firepower and the Cannon from within their own ranks could provide them with that.
I’m talking of young Tom Cannon of course, the home-grown striker who has returned from a loan spell at Championship side Preston North End where he plundered eight goals in 20 outings. Such figures are similar to Ellis Simms’ seven in 17 for Sunderland in the first half of last season but Cannon, 20, is almost two years the junior of his team-mate.
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Doing the business in the Premier League is of course a significant step up from finding the net in the second tier – something the Blues must consider when it comes to potentially splashing out a significant portion of this summer’s transfer budget on Coventry City’s Viktor Gyokeres who might yet end up lining up at Goodison Park in August for Lisbon giants Sporting CP – but Cannon seemed to have something about him from the fleeting glimpses we saw of him for Everton last term.
Coming off the bench in two defeats at Bournemouth and the Boxing Day loss at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, it was a baptism of fire for the rookie but he appeared to possess both power and a nose for goal, managing to get some efforts on target in difficult circumstances. The lad from Aintree still has a few more fences to clear to prove himself at the highest level but if he can kick on next season then he could potentially save the Blues a fortune at a time when funds are understood to be tight.
Matt Jones - Jarrard Branthwaite
While Sean Dyche might rebuff any suggestion that he is unwilling to give young players a chance at Everton, even when the squad was wrecked by injuries late last term he opted against turning to academy prospects. Indeed, he would often leave spaces on the bench or name two goalkeepers instead of throwing a starlet into the fold.
But with finances slim and a number of players already moving on, Dyche may not have a choice next season when it comes to turning to the more juvenile figures in his squad. The most likely candidate to make an impact of the younger age bracket looks to be Jarred Branthwaite as things stand.
Not only have Everton lost two regular defensive starters in Yerry Mina and Conor Coady already, there will be hope that the England youth international will have matured after an encouraging year on loan at PSV Eindhoven.
Branthwaite has of course made sporadic appearances for the Blues already and a number of promising showings have been diluted by occasional naive moments, which you would expect from a teenage defender.
Ideally, he would be third choice next season behind James Tarkowski and another senior partner in the Mina mould. But a player of that calibre may be beyond a cash-strapped Everton.
Branthwaite could be thrown into the fire in Week 1 as a result. Given his talent and temperament, it might just be the making of him.
Connor O'Neill - Lewis Warrington
After Tom Davies decided against extending his stay at Everton, the focus very much turned to Sean Dyche’s midfield options.
Everton are well stocked for midfielders, with the likes of Idrissa Gueye, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Alex Iwobi, Amadou Onana and James Garner. However, Onana has been linked with a move away from Goodison Park.
Regardless of whether the 21-year-old stays or goes, strengthening in midfield is unlikely to be at the top of the club’s list of priorities in the summer’s transfer window. At least two forwards and a left-back are needed to give Sean Dyche the options he needs.
That means that Lewis Warrington could come into Dyche’s thinking as an option in midfield. The 20-year-old is highly thought of at Finch Farm and impressed at Fleetwood Town last season.
Warrington has picked up significant first-team experience over the last 18 months, first at Tranmere Rovers before moving to Scott Brown’s side on loan last summer. Now, however, his time to shine as a senior rotation option could be about to come.
