It is now reported that 18-year-old Everton forward Francis Okoronkwo could be given a chance to impress manager Sean Dyche this summer.
The teenager, who signed for the Blues in 2021 for £1m, has travelled with the senior squad to the pre-season training camp in Switzerland.
Indeed, with the Toffees soon set to take on Swiss side Nyon in the first friendly game of the summer, Okoronkwo now has a chance to catch the eye of the Everton boss.
As per reports in The Athletic, the young forward is very highly rated at Goodison Park, and the club believed they had signed ‘one of the best prospects in the country’ when they secured his signature two years ago.
Everton could have a star in Francis Okoronkwo, but need PL proven striking reinforcements now
Everton’s striking personnel is threadbare to say the least, with options fewer still following the £3.5m departure of 22-year-old Ellis Simms to Coventry City.
Everton’s £15m man Neal Maupay has been tipped to vacate Everton this summer, alongside fellow rumoured departee and Jamaica international Demarai Gray.
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The Toffees’ main man upfront Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be hoping to maintain his fitness levels ahead of the new Premier League season, and Sean Dyche could utilise the club’s U-21 squad until reinforcements arrive.
It is the expectation, according to The Athletic, that Okoronkwo will continue to develop in Everton’s U21 squad this coming season, though the experience of working within the senior setup will no doubt be invaluable.
Indeed, with Everton’s options so limited, the young forward could work his way into Sean Dyche’s plans should be grab his pre-season opportunity this summer.
Everton are a club in desperate need of a lift, and seeing a talented young forward develop during pre-season would be a welcome sight for the fans, and no doubt for Sean Dyche.