Nine young hopefuls walked through the gates of Finch Farm this week for the first time as official scholars of Everton Football Club. That’s 3 fewer than last year’s intake but with the churn and rapid promotion of some of the 2024 team, they should see plenty of action.
Just as a reminder, Braiden Graham, who was on the first team bench in Tuesday’s pre-season friendly against Accrington Stanley, was among those introduced this time last year. That’s how quickly progress can be made if you’re talented
enough and willing to listen to the coaches.
Grouping them into their positions on the field the new boys are:
GOALKEEPER: Seve Patrick
DEFENDERS: Harvey Billington, John Dodds and Lewis Evans
MIDFIELDERS: Freddie Murdock, Shea Pita, Malik Olayiwola and Amari Moses
FORWARD: Ray Robert
As you would expect, the recruits occupy nearly every position on the pitch and the boys turned out dressed smartly for their photo shoot in the video link below where they also introduce themselves:
Meet our 2025/26 scholars, who have just signed their first full-time agreements with the Club! ✍️
— Everton Academy (@EvertonAcademy) July 16, 2025
Who do we know about already?
Obviously, some of these players have not really featured in official highlights footage from the Blues but I have already seen a few of the boys in action for the Under 18s.
Ray Robert has made an impression already. Not a strapping centre forward but that’s where he is effective at operating. He was captain for the early summer Under 16s competition in Abu Dhabi. He will also be remembered for being the first Everton player to score in the famous blue shirt at the Hill Dickinson stadium test event on February 17th this year. We won’t forget and I can guarantee you he won’t either! His mobility and knack of finding space are the obvious things you first notice,
Malik Olayiwola caught my eye playing in the FA Youth Cup as a very skilled and confident central midfielder. He is already an England Under 16 international and, even though he was seen playing against people 2 years older than him, he looked very composed, strong and ready. I am hopeful that he will make a big impact this season in the Under 18 team and the FA Youth Cup.
John Dodds has signed with Everton following his move from the academy of Heart of Midlothian in Scotland. This has been a much anticipated and talked about move for the 16 year old centre back since it was first revealed in April that he would continue his career at Finch Farm. He arrives with an amount of expectancy.
Shea Pita is a Welsh (Llandudno) born winger with Venezuelan heritage. North Wales is renowned for having a massive Evertonian fanbase so he won’t be short of followers.
Harvey Billington I have seen some short video clips of, where he has shown himself to be an aggressive attacking left back.
Goalkeeper Seve Patrick has also already appeared at Hill Dickinson event in February.
Good luck to all our new recruits!
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