Despite playing a position of demonstrated need for Everton, academy graduate Beni Baningime hasn’t really made the breakthrough that was expected of him.
Despite being part of the enlarged bench used during the return from the Coronavirus lockdown, the 21-year-old hasn’t gotten on the pitch for the first team this season.
The Congolese, who has been at Everton since he was nine, didn’t even make the bench for the Toffees’ pre-season contest against Blackpool. Baningime’s near-future seemed clear as he was set to go on loan to Blackpool for the 2020-21 season. However, that clarity became blurred again as the proposed deal collapsed.
According to the Liverpool Echo, It’s not known why the deal collapsed or if it might be spring to life again. but for now, Baningime returns to the Everton Under-23.
Beni Baningime played for the Under-23 against Runcorn on Saturday. There was a time when Baningame seemed to be headed for a spot in the Toffees’ engine room. He made his first team debut in fourth round of the Carabao Cup in a 2017 loss to Chelsea.
He signed a contract that will end in 2022, however, he picked up an ankle injury in the summer of 2018 which sidelined him until October and by then Marco Silva had bought in more midfielders.
So once fit, Beni Baningime went on loan to Wigan. However, the ankle proved to be more troublesome than thought and he only played once for the Latics. The ankle plagued him for more than a year.
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He finally was able to put together a string of games as he had played 21 times for David Unsworth’s under-23 squad until the pandemic shut football down in March. When the extended season restarted, Beningame trained with the first team and was on the substitutes’ bench for most of the restart, but didn’t get on the pitch.
It seems like Beni Baningime has became an almost man. As in almost in the first team, almost loaned to Blackpool and almost certainly to play his football somewhere else this season.
With Ancelotti determined to bring in more midfielders and the returns of Fabian Delph and Jean-Phillipe Gbamin from injury, it seems that Baningame will fall further down the pecking order.
It’s likely that Beni Baningame will be moved on either on loan or by means of a permanent switch.