Braiden Graham made a real impression at Everton last season, but David Moyes still refused to hand the Northern Irishman a senior debut.
The boy from Ballygowan scored 21 goals in 31 appearances in the youth ranks.
However, the closest he got to appearing for the first-team was a spot on the bench in the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest back in December, and also in the FA Cup defeat against Sunderland at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
After receiving a call to play for the senior Northern Ireland side, Everton TV spoke to Graham about his situation and how he feels about the 2025/26 campaign.
Does David Moyes need to put more trust in Everton’s academy players? 😤
Surely some of these players can do better than Beto and Dwight McNeil! 😡
Braiden Graham is “happy” at Everton despite David Moyes snubs
We feel the 18-year-old certainly did enough last season to at least receive some minutes off the bench under Moyes, but that never came.
Despite this, Graham insists he remains “happy” at Everton and motivated to “kick on” with the Toffees. The teenager said: “I’ve had a good season and enjoyed it, scoring goals and playing well, and I’m really happy to receive the Under-21s Player of the Season award.
“I’ve been working hard on different parts of my game, on and off the pitch, so I’m happy I’ve kicked on this season and done well.
“I’ll keep working hard in the off-season and then come back and hope to have a good pre-season and kick on. Maybe go on loan or stay here.”
Moyes needs to decide quickly whether he has any intention of giving Graham an opportunity next season, as it would be sheer negligence to make him spend another year in a youth side he quite clearly finds a bit too easy. It would be a huge mistake amid an important time in his development.
The Glaswegian is expected to take a look at the diminutive striker throughout pre-season.
Where do you stand on Braiden Graham… would you give him his debut? 🎯
A loan move to a League One or Championship club makes the most sense, if Moyes remains unconvinced after pre-season.
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox
