Lack of Everton youth products heightens Blues financial problems

Despite having already staved off the threat of relegation this season, Everton have very significant continuing questions about their financial position going forward, with the prospect of further points deductions next season not impossible.

Furthermore of course, we are all still waiting to hear whether 777 Partners will be able to complete their proposed takeover with no clear idea when a decision will be made.

In addition, a number of the current squad are either at or near the end of their current contracts or may have to be sold to balance the books, and so quite a few of them probably wont be wearing a royal blue shirt when the next Premier League campaign kicks off.

All this leaves the club in a very precarious position going into what is a hugely important summer transfer window.

One avenue to potentially help overcome these problems would be to turn to the youth set up for players who could come through next season.

However, it appears that there is a serious paucity of talent in the club's youth system, certainly in terms of players who might be ready to break into the first team soon.

Historically, Everton have usually had a sprinkling of home-grown talent in their ranks and over the last twenty years or so have produced players such as Ross Barkley, Jack Rodwell, Francis Jeffers and of course most notably; Wayne Rooney.

Anthony Gordon is the last real talent to emerge from the youth system and after his departure to Newcastle United last January there have been no other young players who seem likely to make an impact.

The only one regularly in the current first-team squad, Lewis Dobbin, has had scant opportunity but when he has played hasn't really ever convinced he could become a Premier League quality performer.

I am deliberately not including Jarrad Branthwaite in this, because although has has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign and is in my opinion the Blues best player this season, he was not a product of the club's youth set-up.

The other issue with this situation is whether or not Sean Dyche would or will be more willing to give young players a sustained chance in the team.

Understandably perhaps, the manager has seemed reluctant to trust some of his younger squad members with a lot of chances. Instead he has preferred to go with experienced players generally.

So individuals like Nathan Patterson and Youssef Chermiti hace had little sustained opportunity to show what they can offer.

But then again other youngsters such as Branthwaite, James Garner and Amadou Onana who have been regular performers in the first-team this season.

Both Branthwaite and Onana have been heavily linked with summer moves away from Goodison Park and given Everton's precarious financial situation that might be unavoidable.

There are some fine young players in the current squad alongside Branthwaite, Onana and Patterson, such as James Garner, Dwight McNeil and Youssef Chermiti who could form a nucleus to build on, assuming they stay of course.

However, the lack of new talent emerging from the club's youth set-up that can step up to Premier League football could be a real impediment to re-building a squad already short of numbers and likely to be more so if a number of players have left to save money. We will see.