Benitez Urges Everton Young Players To Commit Their Futures To The Club

By Daily Sports on December 26, 2021

Rafael Benítez has held talks with several of Everton’s brightest academy prospects to convince them to commit their long-term futures to the Goodison Park club.

Everton lost the promising left-back Thierry Small to Southampton in the summer after the 17-year-old, who became the youngest first-team player in the club’s history in January, rejected their offer of a professional contract. The club are in a similar predicament with the highly rated forward Lewis Dobbin, who is out of contract next July and free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a continental European club from 1 January.

Benítez, however, has made a personal intervention to reassure Everton’s young talents that a pathway to the first team remains open after Marcel Brands’ departure as director of football. The academy fell under Brands’ remit and, while the club conduct a review of their internal structure, the Everton manager has sought to persuade academy players to extend their Goodison careers.

The Everton manager said: “When the situation of the club changed a little bit in terms of the structure, the first thing that we did was to have two or three meetings with young players, their agents and their families to try and make sure they could stay with us for a long time. I did it personally with some of them.”

The defender Jarrad Branthwaite and the forward Ellis Simms have signed new contracts at Everton recently, until 2025 and 2024 respectively, but negotiations on a new deal for Dobbin have reached an impasse. The 18-year-old has represented England at under-16, 17 and 19 level and has attracted interest from other Premier League clubs, whom he could join for a development fee next summer, and clubs in Germany. But Benítez is hopeful of reaching an agreement.

“I don’t like to talk too much about that but I think the player is quite happy and our conversations with him have been quite positive,” the Everton manager said. “I have confidence that he will be delighted to stay with us in the future.”

Benítez has given Dobbin three substitute appearances in the Premier League this season, including in the recent draw at Chelsea, when five Everton players are believed to have contracted Covid-19, and he would have been involved in the Boxing Day game at Burnley had the match not been postponed.

The Premier League initially rejected Everton’s request for a postponement due to their Covid cases and six injuries but “regrettably approved” the request on Friday. (The Guardian)

•PHOTO: Benitez



Source Daily Sports

Posted December 26, 2021


 

You may also like...
Heartland’s relegation, most unfortunate — Ekpo

Rohr Confirms Signing New Nigeria Deal

Delph faces family vs country clash with wife...

Ronaldo Can Solve 100 Problems — Sarri

Rolly, Lord Honour To Battle In 2019 Bet9ja...

Everton Make Third Signing As Gray Joins From...

 

Latest News CAF awards: Ajibade, Nnadozie, Edo Queens bag nominations Lagos SWAN, PAACC Hold SWAN Day At Golfview Hotels, Ikeja Crisis looms as Eagles’ form raises AFCON, W’Cup concerns Ex-Nigerian Super Falcons player handcuffed, children assaulted as police storm Anambra Football Academy Sports NFF, teammates console Nwabali on father’s death Abia Govt hails Nigeria Olympic Committee over staging an admin course in Umuahia Libya deliver Eagles 2025 AFCON ticket Eagles battle Cheetahs for 2025 AFCON ticket Yellow Greens gear up for T20 W’Cup qualifiers Tyson tips Fury to beat Joshua Sadiq absent as 22 Eagles train in Abidjan Eagles’ striking trio hot for Cheetahs, Amavubi clashes

 

Most Read Rangers International going, going . . . (55,164 views) Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (46,307 views) Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (44,370 views) Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (44,015 views) Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (43,948 views) Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (43,904 views) Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (43,743 views) NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (43,312 views) Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (42,366 views) Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (41,054 views) Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (39,507 views) John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (38,931 views)

 

Phone numbers

Tel: +234(0)8066020976
+234(0)8055068145
+234(0)7013416146
+234(0)8094272884

Email addresses

info@dailysportsng.com
support@dailysportsng.com
publisher@dailysportsng.com

Office address

No 3, Adetoun Close, Off College Road, Ogba, Ikeja Lagos.
Website: www.dailysportsng.com

Social Media