The latest crop of outstanding young players is a promising factor in the longer-term development of the team.
Everton’s youth development over the years has always been fantastic, which has been underlined by the emergence of players like John Stones, Ross Barkley, Calvert-Lewin and of course Wayne Rooney. This new crop of youngsters look like the real deal for the Toffees.
The first player I have to talk about is Anthony Gordon, who instantly became a fan favourite for the Blues when he started making appearances towards the end of last season. Gordon has clear technical ability and has one thing that always leads to success for young players and that is the drive to succeed.
The 19-year old has constantly questioned Ancelotti and why he hasn’t been playing and it shows his desire to help the team succeed, he impresses whenever he plays and could be the natural successor to Richarlison if he happens to leave the club.
I think Everton will show huge improvements if Gordon is given chances over players who haven’t impressed like Iwobi and Sigurdsson and they can’t take the risk of losing a player with his potential and drive due to a lack of playing time.
Next up is Jarrad Branthwaite, the youngster who was signed from Carlisle to play youth football, was given a chance by Ancelotti towards the end of last season and impressed every Toffees supporter with his solid defensive performances.
Even in the Newcastle game he was placed on the bench so it’s clear Ancelotti and the rest of the staff rate him highly and it’s understandable why. His positioning is great for somebody who’s only 18-years old and he’s surprisingly composed, not letting the big occasion of Premier League football get to him.
He could be a great asset for Everton in the future and possibly in the present if players like Yerry Mina continue to underperform, but I think Branthwaite has the potential to be a leading centre back in the Premier League or at least a very reliable defender for the next 10-15 years.
New signing Ben Godfrey was able to impress in his first performance for Everton in the Merseyside Derby where he played as a makeshift right-back due to Seamus Coleman’s injury and was able to keep Sadio Mane out of the game for some time.
Godfrey wasn’t as fortunate in the Southampton game where he struggled to keep up with the pace of Nathan Redmond and was targeted as a weakness by Ralph Hasenhuttl’s dangerous Saints side.
It’s clear to Toffees fans that Godfrey has enormous potential which he also showed at Norwich and he may get a chance soon to become Michael Keane’s new partner in defence if the previously mentioned Mina continues to underperform. Ancelotti rates Godfrey as a defensive prospect and rotation piece which is why the Merseyside outfit paid almost £25 million to newly relegated Norwich for his services.
The signing of young French full-back Niels Nkounkou is another example of Everton finding terrific underutilised young talent. Niels was signed apparently for no fee from Marseille and so far has been a bargain for such a cheap price. Niels impressed heavily in pre-season and the Carabao Cup for the Toffees, showing an ability to get forward and play crosses into the box, while also having the athleticism to get back and make clutch defensive tackles.
If he continues to develop at the rate he’s currently developing then he’ll be a great replacement for Digne if we happen to lose him. He’s made one appearance in the Premier League in the 2-1 defeat to Newcastle and he had some impressive moments, but I feel like he struggled in certain situations, but improvements will come with more playing time and if Ancelotti wants to make a deep cup run in both cup competitions then Niels can expect a lot of playing time this year, and there’s also the chance of European football next year.
The last player I want to talk about is a player I don’t believe gets enough attention and that’s young striking prospect Ellis Simms.
This young player hit the headlines after scoring 32 goals in 21 matches for the Everton under-18s which has followed him into the under-23s where he has scored 4 goals in 5 appearances in the Premier League 2.
Simms has been on the bench a few times, most recently in the Newcastle game, but he hasn’t seen the pitch for the Toffees first team yet and I think the time is now for him to get a chance.
Everton currently have underperforming striker Cenk Tosun, who it seems like Ancelotti wants to give a chance to, but if he continues to lack that goalscoring touch then it’s only just fair that the natural-born finisher in Simms gets a chance to impress the first team.