The Friedkins are losing millions as behind the scenes Everton issue proves costly

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Everton’s poor academy strategy is really starting to cost the club when it comes to players departing the club on free deals.

The Friedkin Group landed on Merseyside with the instant goal of stabilising the club’s finances.

Short-term debt was cleared at Everton by the American owners, but the long-term vision has to be improving the way the club operates when it comes to cashing in on their academy.

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Over recent days, Everton have already seen a number of their youngsters depart Finch Farm as free agents.

Which Everton academy players have departed this summer

Everton News understands that Akarakiri left Everton after being offered first-team opportunities over in Italy with Cagliari.

Sources told Everton News that Akarakiri ‘loved’ his time at Everton, but the opportunity to play first-team football elsewhere was ‘a game-changer’.

This marks a major blow for Everton in losing one of their top talents from the academy set up at Finch Farm.

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! 😡

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There have been more than 10 other players to depart the club’s academy set-up, with some contract offers still being mulled over.

Everton’s academy needs to become more sustainable financially

David Moyes wants more Everton academy graduates impacting his first-team squad back at Finch Farm.

There is some irony in his comments given the lack of opportunities he has handed out to the Everton youngsters since he returned to the club.

Ideally, this is also what the Everton board will want to see, but the reality is only a small percentage of players from the academy will actually go on to have a career with the first team.

There are, however, other ways to make the academy successful.

Dean Rastrick has been appointed by Everton as the club’s new academy director as the Friedkins aim to finally get a handle on the youth set-up.

Ultimately, his aim will be to improve the standard of player being produced by the academy and manage the individuals better.

One big problem Everton are experiencing is the number of players spending years on their books and then leaving for nothing at the end of their deals.

Take Reece Welch, for example, the centre-back joined the Everton academy at the age of eight and has just departed as a 22-year-old on a free.

Everton have spent 14 years developing the defender and received nothing back in the form of a transfer fee for the centre-back.

Welch is expected to be snapped up almost instantly, with suggestions that Sheffield Wednesday are keen to sign him.

This marks a major issue for Everton as failing to cash in on some of their players marks just as big of a failure as them not reaching the first team.

Alan Stubbs admitted Everton’s academy funding decreased significantly over recent years before the arrival of the Friedkins.

Improvement on Merseyside is going to be a long-term task for the likes of Rastrick.

Losing academy prospects, albeit not ideal, is not the absolute end of the world, but Everton have to start making sure they are not missing out on potential transfer fees for players in clear demand elsewhere.