Sean Dyche drops verdict on 19-year-old ‘high-level’ Everton gem who cost £15m

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Sean Dyche has dropped a verdict on talented 19-year-old Everton forward Youssef Chermiti amid ‘high-level’ claim.

Everton picked up the talented 19-year-old Portuguese striker, Youssef Chermiti, from Sporting Lisbon during the summer.

While Everton officially claimed that the fee was undisclosed, £15m is believed to be how much the Toffees paid. The Goodison Park side also allowed Sporting to retain a huge sell-on clause of 12.5 per cent, this was a telling sign of the talent Everton were desperate to secure.

The 6ft 3in Portugal U19 international signed a four-year contract but since then he’s played just 90 minutes with Sean Dyche favouring the more senior players in Beto and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Interestingly, Chermiti also fits the typical Dyche pre-requisite for a striker given his height which means he should be able to boast similarly impressive aerial stats to the two other strikers.

But given how much he cost, there are rightfully questions over why he isn’t playing and now in his most recent press conference, Dyche has provided us with an update on his development.

Sean Dyche on Youssef Chermiti development

Speaking to the press ahead of this weekend’s Premier League game against Aston Villa, Dyche was asked about Chermiti.

“His development is going well. He’s adjusting to the physicality and nature of the English game, the way it’s going in the Premier League. He’s still a young player. You get a boy in for a few quid and everyone is like: ‘Why aren’t they doing this, why aren’t they doing that. He’s just a high-level development player but he’s still a development player.

“We’re looking for him to do that. He’s doing it, working hard and enjoying it so far.”

With two players ahead of him, Chermiti will have to bide his time and potentially a loan could be needed in order to help him get some minutes on the pitch.

Chermiti can learn a great deal from Calvert-Lewin

As a young kid who has just arrived from Portugal, it’s no surprise that he’s being bedded in carefully.

So many young talents are overexposed early on which ultimately destroys them in the league.

For Chermiti, he can learn about the way to succeed in English football from Calvert-Lewin while he develops, before taking the Englishman’s place in due course.