Everton Youth Teams Thread


EFC_FRANCIS said:
www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

Everton weigh up next steps for prolific academy goalscorer who Liverpool wanted

Joe Thomas writes on the rise of Braiden Graham, the prolific academy forward once wanted by Liverpool and now on the radar of Everton’s first-team staff
www.liverpoolecho.co.uk www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

They've paywalled it (lol) but the gist is he's not going to be an out and out centre forward and the club don't want to loan him in Jan. Tamen, Campbell, Welch, Dixon and Tyrer will be the players available for loan - some cutting edge premium journalism right there.
Click to expand...
Cheers for that. I was thinking recently we need a kind of “ What are we going to do about Braiden.?” discussion, not enough to start a new thread but worthy of thought.

We’ve known for a long time that from his build and general play that he’s not a striker , but he does perform well when he’s got a striker to play off. So you’d think 10 , but often this season he’s played with an 11 on his back . While he’s an excellent ball carrier and can beat his man with a touch of skill , he’s not an out and out winger either. That quick , deft touch to take him past a man or out of a tight situation, ability to lay the ball off for an assist or score himself do mark him out as a unique talent at the moment. It’s hard to compare him with anybody else. Maybe a touch of Francis Jeffers at a similar age.

Knowing where to play him would also be a dilemma for clubs wanting to loan him, it was easy for Derby to know where they’d play Armstrong last season and even PNE to change his role this season. Maybe he’d have go to a promotion chasing League 1 club if he went in January, so they’ll likely wait until next season and look towards the Championship. When you get a precocious talent there’s always a tendency by us fans to want to rush him on too fast, he’s only just turned 18, a Second year Scholar and so far doing all that was expected of him at u18 and u21. Hopefully we also figure out where his best position is too .
 
blueloon said:
Cheers for that. I was thinking recently we need a kind of “ What are we going to do about Braiden.?” discussion, not enough to start a new thread but worthy of thought.

We’ve known for a long time that from his build and general play that he’s not a striker , but he does perform well when he’s got a striker to play off. So you’d think 10 , but often this season he’s played with an 11 on his back . While he’s an excellent ball carrier and can beat his man with a touch of skill , he’s not an out and out winger either. That quick , deft touch to take him past a man or out of a tight situation, ability to lay the ball off for an assist or score himself do mark him out as a unique talent at the moment. It’s hard to compare him with anybody else. Maybe a touch of Francis Jeffers at a similar age.

Knowing where to play him would also be a dilemma for clubs wanting to loan him, it was easy for Derby to know where they’d play Armstrong last season and even PNE to change his role this season. Maybe he’d have go to a promotion chasing League 1 club if he went in January, so they’ll likely wait until next season and look towards the Championship. When you get a precocious talent there’s always a tendency by us fans to want to rush him on too fast, he’s only just turned 18, a Second year Scholar and so far doing all that was expected of him at u18 and u21. Hopefully we also figure out where his best position is too .
Click to expand...
Echo a lot of your thoughts there, it's also a lot easier to loan an Armstrong, Sherif or Okoronkwo who are almost fully developed physically at Graham's age. Graham seems to need a Gordon like transformation of bulking without losing his pace before breaking through.

But then he can't really use his pace in the 10 either so it's hard to nail down where he could play. Winger seems the easiest transition for him id say
 

Ring master said:
Never even knew they have ever done that :lol: - But here it is

Goodison Park erupted into celebration twice last week as Everton’s youngsters pulled off statement wins.

First against PSV Eindhoven, then against Monaco, the club’s Under-21s twice came from behind to secure morale-boosting wins against illustrious opponents in the Premier League International Cup.

The victories were all the more impressive because they were achieved with several players stepping up age groups - in the 3-2 win over PSV all three goals were scored by 16-year-olds.

Unusually for Paul Tait’s team none of the five goals across four positive days came from the boot of top scorer Braiden Graham. His presence was still felt, however.

In stoppage time against Monaco on Friday night it was the young forward who carried the ball into the visitors’ box, the Northern Ireland youth international the catalyst for the chaos that led to George Morgan’s winner. Against PSV, a generous Graham allowed team-mate Shea Pita to take the winning spot kick after the winger drew the foul in front of the Gwladys Street.

It has been some 18 months for Graham. Signed from Linfield, where he became the youngest player to feature in the senior side, he was courted by Everton for some time.

A defining moment in the fledgling relationship came in May 2023, when Graham was in the stands at Goodison as a guest as Abdoulaye Doucoure sent the Grand Old Lady into orbit with the thunderous strike against Bournemouth that saved the Blues from relegation.

The reaction left an indelible impression on a teenager still buzzing from the high of his Linfield debut just weeks earlier at the age of 15 years and 137 days.

“The whole feeling around the club made me think it was perfect for me,” he later reflected. “I felt there was a good pathway at Everton for me. It just felt right. I was at Goodison Park on the final day of that season and Everton beat Bournemouth 1-0 to stay up. Watching that game, I was like, ‘I want to play here’.”

Graham settled well last season amid a cohort of players signed from other clubs as the Blues made the first strides towards rebuilding their youth sides after the academy suffered amid the ownership and financial chaos that characterised the final years of the Farhad Moshiri reign. He linked up with the likes of Justin Clarke, signed from AFC Wimbledon, and Ceiran Loney, who joined from Scottish side Partick.

It helped that he hit the ground running, scoring on his debut for the U18s in an opening day win over Stoke City. Thirteen goals and five assists would follow in his first campaign. When he signed his first professional deal with the club in November 2024 as he turned 17, he had six goals from his first six games for what was then Leighton Baines’ side.

Kevin Thelwell, director of football at the time, said: “We were delighted to bring Braiden to Everton in the summer, amid a lot of competition from other clubs for his signature, and it’s a move that has benefitted both him and the club.

“He’s been excellent so far this season. His goal record is very impressive, and he’s shown a great attitude for learning. Braiden’s game has developed working with our talented coaches, and he can see a clear pathway that offers him a great chance to progress at Everton.”
The competition referenced by Thelwell included interest from Liverpool, where Graham had a trial before agreeing to join their rivals. There was no shortage of satisfaction when the youngster scored in both of the U18s’ Merseyside derby wins last season.

Graham’s taste for a goal in a big game is one of several features of the early stages of his career. Described as a “lethal” finisher, his ruthlessness in front of goal has seen him at the forefront of landmark wins - both for Everton and the Northern Ireland U19s. It was his goal against Azerbaijan last month that sent his international side through to the next round of qualifying for the U19s Euros next summer.

Graham ended last season as he started it - in the goals. This time it was after being promoted to the U21s. In the season finale he bagged four in 66 minutes as Tait’s team signed off with a 5-4 win at Tottenham Hotspur.

Graham has been prolific again this season despite missing some games with an injury and being played on the left wing more, slightly out of position. His stature means there is an acceptance he will not be a traditional number nine, but his intelligence and clinical finishing have pointed to the potential for a career playing off a target man or in a central attacking midfield role.

Yet he is still the U21s’ top scorer, some achievement considering he is often facing players several years his senior. Four of his nine goals this season have come under Tait, the rest coming in cup cameos for the U18s, including a last-minute winner in the FA Youth Cup at Millwall recently.
For all his involvement in the youth setup there is interest in Graham from the senior coaching staff at Finch Farm. He travelled to Scotland for a pre-season camp with the first team in the summer and featured off the bench in some of the early friendlies. Graham has started to be introduced to first-team training more regularly and considerable time is spent on personal sessions concentrating on areas like his finishing.

The second half of the season often sees Premier League 2 teams depleted as older players seek Football League loans. While Everton will entertain moves for several players - including Will Tamen, Elijah Campbell, Roman Dixon and Reece Welch, Graham is not expected to move - the current thought process being the next six months could be significant in his development as more opportunities open up at Finch Farm.

Given the likes of Campbell and Welch have filled David Moyes’ bench in the Premier League this season, there could be a spot for him to gain matchday experience should they move out on loan.

The coming months will also allow Everton to consider their plans for Graham in more detail. His current deal is set to enter its final 18 months and the Blues already have a cautionary lesson from an academy player who has now gone onto become a prolific goalscorer for Northern Ireland. Isaac Price left on a free in the summer of 2023 and looks likely to become a Premier League midfielder given his ongoing success in the Championship with West Bromwich Albion.

For now, the focus is on supporting Graham as he continues to develop from inside the club. Speaking to the ECHO about his young forward, Tait summed up the situation well.
Click to expand...
Great post Ring master, I think Braiden is a natural footballer with a football brain to match, a poacher of goals as in those four goals he scored v Spurs U21’s — all of them in the six yard box— he can smell and anticipate the moves and passes that lead to those goals. I hope we make sure, as you said, that he stays with the Blues. I had a little chat with his dad in The Upper Bullens last season when we played Wolves (?) in the FA youth cup and he was delighted that his son had signed for us and knew he was being well looked after. I hope we continue to look after him —- I think he has a very good career ahead of him.
 
blueloon said:
Cheers for that. I was thinking recently we need a kind of “ What are we going to do about Braiden.?” discussion, not enough to start a new thread but worthy of thought.

We’ve known for a long time that from his build and general play that he’s not a striker , but he does perform well when he’s got a striker to play off. So you’d think 10 , but often this season he’s played with an 11 on his back . While he’s an excellent ball carrier and can beat his man with a touch of skill , he’s not an out and out winger either. That quick , deft touch to take him past a man or out of a tight situation, ability to lay the ball off for an assist or score himself do mark him out as a unique talent at the moment. It’s hard to compare him with anybody else. Maybe a touch of Francis Jeffers at a similar age.

Knowing where to play him would also be a dilemma for clubs wanting to loan him, it was easy for Derby to know where they’d play Armstrong last season and even PNE to change his role this season. Maybe he’d have go to a promotion chasing League 1 club if he went in January, so they’ll likely wait until next season and look towards the Championship. When you get a precocious talent there’s always a tendency by us fans to want to rush him on too fast, he’s only just turned 18, a Second year Scholar and so far doing all that was expected of him at u18 and u21. Hopefully we also figure out where his best position is too .
Click to expand...

I think the “probable” loan next year will be an interesting indicator of what role the club sees him playing long term, or lack there of… wither he goes to a club to fill a very specific role, or if he ends up at a club that plays a similar 4231 and floats around between a few positions. Either would be valuable for his development, but I think that would provide us some valuable insight into what he’s being developed as.

This is maybe an off kilter comparison, but I think his best role is probably something similar to Mirallas when he was around. A diminutive “forward” who played on the wing (but was in no way a winger), liked to cut inside, could create but was much more so a finisher, almost a second striker that starts out wide instead of underneath in a 10 position.
 
George Pickford apparently has interest from Germany with his contract up at season end.

Also, i still find it odd Tyrer wasnt sold for £1mil in the summer.
 
Toffeebraeden said:
I think the “probable” loan next year will be an interesting indicator of what role the club sees him playing long term, or lack there of… wither he goes to a club to fill a very specific role, or if he ends up at a club that plays a similar 4231 and floats around between a few positions. Either would be valuable for his development, but I think that would provide us some valuable insight into what he’s being developed as.

This is maybe an off kilter comparison, but I think his best role is probably something similar to Mirallas when he was around. A diminutive “forward” who played on the wing (but was in no way a winger), liked to cut inside, could create but was much more so a finisher, almost a second striker that starts out wide instead of underneath in a 10 position.
Click to expand...
Looking at the goalscoring forwards at the club now I think a better consideration is to keep him here,age might go against him but I think if your good enough age doesn’t matter much especially when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net.
 
EFC_FRANCIS said:
Boyland in the Athletic has said George Pickford is possibly going to Germany on a free at the end of the season. Would be a shame to lose him.
Click to expand...
I do wonder who is responsible for overseeing goalkeeper strategy at the club. We obviously have goalkeeper coaches but the whole system for them seems haphazard without too much coordination. Every so often we have a splurge bringing in young keepers, then loans way down the league which generally have worked out well in their development. Then they hit a wall , rarely breaking into the top 3 goalkeepers. I thought Harry Tyrer may have made that step up. It looks like our system is “ Pay £30 mill for a decent young keeper that will do us for 8-10’yeaes, back him up with cheap ex PL players as 2and 3 . Rinse and repeat and don’t worry about needing a yoking goalkeeper coming through.
 

blueloon said:
I do wonder who is responsible for overseeing goalkeeper strategy at the club. We obviously have goalkeeper coaches but the whole system for them seems haphazard without too much coordination. Every so often we have a splurge bringing in young keepers, then loans way down the league which generally have worked out well in their development. Then they hit a wall , rarely breaking into the top 3 goalkeepers. I thought Harry Tyrer may have made that step up. It looks like our system is “ Pay £30 mill for a decent young keeper that will do us for 8-10’yeaes, back him up with cheap ex PL players as 2and 3 . Rinse and repeat and don’t worry about needing a yoking goalkeeper coming through.
Click to expand...
Very few players come through overall, not just keepers. That's just how it is. On top of that goalie is a notoriously hard position to break through at the top. How many PL teams have a keeper who has come through their own system?
 
Makis said:
Very few players come through overall, not just keepers. That's just how it is. On top of that goalie is a notoriously hard position to break through at the top. How many PL teams have a keeper who has come through their own system?
Click to expand...

….they also tend to reach their peak at a later age than outfield players.

Can’t think of a keeper we’ve brought through to play 50 games for us in my lifetime other than Albert Dunlop and Andy Rankin. Geoff Barnett had a decent career but couldn’t leapfrog Gordon West. All a long time ago.
 

Welcome

Join Grand Old Team to get involved in the Everton discussion. Signing up is quick, easy, and completely free.

Register

Shop

Back
Top