Not unexpectedly, we have seen some further movement within the personnel who will make up this year’s Everton Under 21 squad.
Several of the youngsters are aged around the 20 mark when they should realistically be playing first team football somewhere, even if that isn’t with Everton.
One such player who’d been at the club since he was a toddler is Jenson Metcalfe and he was allowed to leave for Bradford City on Thursday presumably for a nominal (development compensation) fee. Ironically, that came
within days of him making two short appearances for David Moyes’ threadbare first team squad and, for the minutes he was on, he acquitted himself well in my opinion. He had a good loan spell at League Two’s Chesterfield last season and this permanent move gives him an opportunity to shine in League One, the third tier of English football. He reminded me a lot style-wise of a former Goodison pupil, Lewis Warrington who also left the club last year, ironically, with a fleeting first team cameo after years in the junior ranks. Metcalfe is a central midfield playmaker, good on the ball.
“Back through the indoor” to sign the last of a series of two year contracts on offer was goalkeeper Fraser Barnsley. The one-cap Northern Ireland Under 21 player took a little longer than the rest of those offered contracts to actually sign on the line. Presumably he was mindful of the potential churn amongst the ranks of the Blues’ goalkeeper union.
Jordan Pickford, Mark Travers and, currently, Harry Tyrer are all ahead of him in the pecking order but things can move quickly and either he or Tyrer could be sought after in the loan market this summer. It could mean he becomes third choice if Tyrer moves on or he could get a move himself to kick-start a career that’s stalled a little since his move from Oxford United. He’s pictured below, clearly delighted to be staying a Toffee.
Other players rumoured to potentially be on the move are 21 year old Reece Welch and fellow defender, 20 year old Roman Dixon. There have been regular links with Stockport County and suggestions the pair have been in training sessions there. Judging by their absence or lack of opportunity whilst David Moyes’ squad has been down to the bare bones, they have no immediate future at the Blues anyway.
Some of the younger first team squad members like 22 year old Tyler Onyango, a surprise inclusion as a centre back in the behind-doors friendly against Port Vale earlier in the week, plus Youssef Chermiti and Isaac Heath may join Harrison Armstrong on the “most wanted list” of Football League clubs.
Other 20 year-olds, some of whom have been seen in the official U21 training session videos are:
Elijah Campbell, Kingsford Boakye and Francis Okoronkwo. I would not be at all surprised to see any of those players leave the club soon in search of football, either on a loan or permanent basis. There may be younger players like Martin Sherif also who will be given a development loan opportunity.
Good luck to them all!
More from royalbluemersey.sbnation.com:
- Everton at Newcastle: start time, lineups, TV schedule, live stream and how to watch online
- Wednesday’s Toffee Bites: Everton are Sam Allardyce’s team now
- Everton 1-0 Newcastle: Another One
- Sam the Scrooge cancels Everton Christmas party
- Allardyce: It’s not rocket science
- No change in Everton’s injury situation for Newcastle
- Young Everton fan reaches fundraising goal, but hospital is unmoved
