More Everton youth products must make the grade

The Liverpool Echo are looking in depth at some of the best young Everton prospects currently making their way through the club’s youth team structures. But critically, how many of them will actually make the grade to the first team?

This has been an ongoing issue for Everton for a while now and there have been a number of talented players who have come through but ultimately weren’t able to secure a place in the Toffees first team.

There have been quite a few examples with young players managing to break into the Blues side in recent years such as Michael Ball, Francis Jeffers, Wayne Rooney, Jack Rodwell, Ross Barkley and Tom Davies.

But apart from Rooney, (who obviously was the most talented and successful of these individuals and left for Man United and great success), none of the others really went on to become the players that might have been expected given their performances at youth level. Although Davies is showing signs this season that he might be able to nail down a place long-term in the Blues team.

Indeed players like Rodwell and Barkley were individuals of great promise who many felt would become outstanding senior players but then failed to come good at Everton and moved on to other clubs eventually.

Rodwell is now plying his trade in the lower leagues while Barkely having moved to Chelsea for an absurdly small fee, is now trying to revive his career at Aston Villa.

The Echo article identifies ten players they think could become starters in the future and several of them have already been in the first-team squad: Harry Tyler, Thierry Small and Tyler Onyango. Let’s hope that these three and others mentioned can come through.

Why though does this matter if the Blues have the resources now under their current owner to bring in the players they need?

Well apart from the obvious cost to the club of bringing through young players who then don’t make it, given the wider financial environment especially as the cost of the Covid 19 response continues to bite, then the importance of finding ways to save money on expensive transfers will be even more significant.

While transfer fees are lower as many clubs struggle with the new economic reality it’s still an expensive business signing players particularly the sort of top talent Everton are trying to attract.

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Then there is the new stadium, which has just been given government approval and can now basically go ahead, bar any last minute hitches.

The cost of the ground is presently around £500 million however that price is likely to rise as almsot always tend to happen with these projects.

Everton are going to have to put a considerable amount into the stadium build obviously, although they are partnering with other organisations together with the council to make the project happen.

But whatever the exact cost for the club, it’s likely that finances will be tighter in the next few years as the ground takes shape, especially if costs rise.

Perhaps as a sort of preview to this, recently Carlo Ancelotti has been talking down the prospects of the Toffees spending significantly in the upcoming summer transfer window, suggesting that only two or three new players will be coming through the doors at most.

All of this means that trying to ensure that gifted young players from the youth systems come through and are good enough to become regulars in the first-team is going to be even more important for the club to balance these competing and growing financial pressures.