..a few times. I’m with
@davek on this one, it’s pointless sending him on loan again. Indeed, I thought he was a better option than we had last season (before Walcott arrived), so i’d have certainly kept him here and used him. It comes to a point where you either play these youngsters or sell them.
The new contract is quite telling. Same agent as Barkley and so could have sat on his contract if he felt he had no chance of opportunities at Everton. I'm sure with the agent he had he wouldn't have been shy of telling him that.
There is a third option in the above, which is he is coached and gradually given some exposure. He's still only 21 and has had some decent exposure in terms of games in the championship and a little for the first team for his age.
I remember Klopp saying when he first arrived at Liverpool he wouldn't loan players as it didn't help them. I think that has been proven utopian thinking and ultimately a bit wrong because we don't have the B teams in the same way Germany does. However I always felt he was on to something, in that high quality coaching can sometimes benefit players more.
Of all the young players I think him and Davies will benefit most from Silva's training. Both have aspects of their game that are very good but they also need a bit of the basics. With Dowell I do think if you send him out on loan, you are always liable for a Warnock/Karanka type manager, adopting a rigid style in a league that leads itself to pragmatism and strength as opposed to ingenuity. Powell needs 6 months of drilling (the sort Moyes would do) but you can see why a championship team would look at it and ask why they would do that if there's no chance of signing the player at the end of it?
The other argument that is thrown forward is toughening them up. I get that but I'm not sure how another season gets him any tougher. I can see sense with Robinson, he gets another 30+ games and can maybe see if he's ready to fill Baines's spot next season. Likewise Connolly can fill out again and get miles in the legs and probably audition for a permanent deal away (or come back).
I think though, that Silva has earmarked Dowell and won't take the easy decision of binning him off to someone else. I think it will be a little like how it was with Koeman though, where there was a lot of work in the first 6 months (albeit more hands on work) with him drip fed a bit of game time here and there, before hopefully he can play a part in the second half of the season. That could really benefit Dowell as I don't think he's really had that level of coaching since the season he spent with Unsworth where he got the goals at 18/19.
So yes, the contract is a big sign for me. I think it's good for the club and I hope Silva has a medium term plan for him. He should be watching Sigurdsson every day and wanting to get ahead of him in the pecking order. That will surely help him?
