Everton are set to hand Braiden Graham an opportunity in pre-season.
The 18-year-old forward has been seriously impressing under Paul Tait with the Everton U21 side.
However, David Moyes is not looking to hand Graham his senior debut before the end of the current Premier League 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! 😡
With so much still on the line for Everton, the youngster will not be thrown into the fire, but this summer will offer him an opportunity to impress.
What Everton have planned for Braiden Graham this summer
Graham scored another two goals for Everton’s U21s on Friday evening in their play-off clash against Watford.
Having netted six in his last two appearances, there’s a real clamour for him to be called up by Moyes, but one club insider has shed some light on the situation.
Where do you stand on Braiden Graham… would you give him his debut? 🎯
“Potentially a loan [for next season]. He is currently scheduled to go away with Everton for pre-season, and he will likely start pre-season with us,” he said on A View From The Bullens.
“However, if I am being brutally honest, I think it would take a huge pre-season for him to be considered for the first team next year.”
Moyes admitted Graham is not close to a senior call-up in the remaining games of the current term despite the recent struggles of Thierno Barry.
Although Graham is on course to travel with Everton for their pre-season tour, it must be noted that Harrison Armstrong was given the same opportunity last summer.
Armstrong impressed Moyes during pre-season, but that did not prevent the Scot from sending the youngster out on loan to Preston North End.
It is not too difficult to picture the same happening to Graham in the coming months.
What level Braiden Graham could be loaned out to
Clearly, when it comes to the 18-year-old’s talent, he could be playing Championship football for next season.
However, Everton need to be careful in picking the right loan for Graham.
Moyes holds concerns over Graham’s physicality, and they are completely understandable concerns as he is not built in a similar way to Armstrong, for example.
There is the possibility that Championship football could be a step too far for Graham at this stage in his development.
League One may be the target for Everton, with a hope that he would be able to fully showcase his ability at that level.
Although there is a lot of excitement surrounding Graham, there also has to be a level of acceptance that he simply is not quite ready to make the leap to Everton’s first team just yet.
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