A good few of the youngsters are on duty druing the summer Rodders, Wallace, Hope and Lundstram:
EVERTON’S first team stars may already be on the beach - but Blues searching for some Toffee-centric summer football won’t have to wait too long for their next fix.
Prospects from Everton’s renowned academy will be gracing THREE England tournaments over June and July, providing them with the chance to test their mettle against some of the best young players in the world.
Jack Rodwell is tipped to captain Stuart Pearce’s U-21’s in the mouth-watering opener of their European Championship campaign against Spain on June 12, which could see highly-rated Barcelona striker Bojan in the opposition line-up.
Rodwell shone as he managed to find some consistency in the Everton first team towards the end of last season, and ended on a high with an impressive defensive-midfield performance in the 1-0 win over Chelsea at Goodison.
Rumours linking the 20-year-old with a big-money summer exit refuse to go away, so Evertonians will monitor his progress with interest, aware that the extra profile could bring further attention from other clubs.
Another academy midfielder with a bright future ahead of him is James Wallace, 19, who signed a new one-year contract with the Blues on Tuesday.
Wallace could feature for England U-20’s in their quest for World Cup glory in Columbia, with the three lions taking on Mexico, Argentina and North Korea in Group F.
Perhaps the most exciting chance to assess Everton’s youth potential, however, arrives in Mexico, as two of the Blues national championship-winning U-17 side will figure prominently for England in the U-17 World Cup.
Teenage hotshot Hallam Hope played a key role in helping England qualify for the tournament, scoring three times at the UEFA Championship in Serbia, to help the Three Lions to the semi-finals which guaranteed John Peacock’s side a place in Mexico
Alongside Hope will be promising Liverpool-born midfielder John Lundstram, a powerful, aggressive box-to-box midfielder, who also boasts an impressive range of passing.
Lundstram was listed in UEFA’s ‘top talents’ list for the Championships in Serbia, and featured in every game.
Both youngsters were on top-form as Neil Dewsnip’s side swept to the national academy title, with Manchester-born Hope, in particular, catching the eye.
Hope was released by Manchester City when he was 11, and was picked up by Everton, where he has remained ever since. “I played as a striker at my Sunday League team and was signed by City,” he said. “They kept on moving me around and playing me in different positions, even at centre-half, but never in my actual position as a striker. I think that might be one of the reasons why things didn’t go well for either.
“Since being at Everton I’ve played the vast majority of my games up front – I’ve played out wide a couple of times to help the team, which I don’t mind doing.
“All of the people and players who are involved at Everton are really good, from the
Academy, to the reserves, to the first team. I’m really grateful to the club for giving me a chance. Everton’s got a really good reputation for developing players and bringing them through to the first team and that gives me a lot of confidence. They’ve also got a great history in developing centre-forwards and I hope to follow in their footsteps.”
The 17-year-old is full of confidence after his goal-scoring exploits in Serbia. He said: “I think the tournament went well.
“Qualification for the World Cup was the minimum requirement which the coach was looking for and it was one of my main targets too because I really want to play in it.
“It was good for me to score some goals. One of the goals I scored against Serbia was the best I’ve ever scored for England and that really boosts my confidence. But it’s not about me, it’s about the team – and those goals helped the team.”
England eventually exited the competition due to a single-goal defeat at the hands of eventual-winners Holland. While the result was hard to take at the time, the striker from South Manchester has his sights firmly fixed on June 19, the date of their opening game against Rwanda in Pachuca.
“It was a little bit disappointing to lose in the semi-final to the Netherlands,” said Hope.
“They were better than us in the first half, but the second half I thought we dominated them.
“It was quite an even game, but they just had a little bit of luck with the deflection off our defender for the goal. If we were to meet them in Mexico, we wouldn’t fear them – in fact we’d love the opportunity to come up against them again.
“We had some very good experiences in Serbia. We were put in positions where we needed to win games – and we did, we’re going to take the positives from that and now look to the World Cup. I’m really excited about going to Mexico and I know the whole team is too. It’s going to be a huge event, a fantastic tournament and hopefully will do well in it.”
It could have also been a very different story at international level, with the teenager eligible
to play for Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
“My dad is from Barbados and my Nana is also from there,” he said. “I’m eligible to play for Trinidad and Tobago through my grandad, but the main link is with Barbados – all my uncles live over there. It’s not that far from Mexico, so maybe a couple of them will come over and support me!”
