Onyekuru set for Anderlecht loan via Everton move

While the Belgian league is obviously not near the quality of the Premier League, his stats were very good, taking into consideration that he is only 20 and did not play for a top team. Let's hope we can get this deal over the line.

The town is tiny (under 20k population) and in the German speaking part of Belgium, but the club are owned by the Qataris who also own PSG. They also own the Aspire Academy which used the club as a launchpad for its worldwide graduates (or you could look at it that Eupen use the Academy for loaning talented youngsters for free). This is a big part of the reason for their recent success with talent like Henry Onyekuru coming through.

They also have a number of good players coming through from all over Africa, but Henry is the standout. A move to Anderlecht would be a big step up in quality; if we can forge a relationship with these kinds of clubs, it could be a great source of talent for the U23s and long term produce a few first team players as our own academy is doing so well.

I wouldn't take the Henen deal as too much of a negative. Sometimes these gifted youngsters fulfill their potential and sometimes not. Everyone was looking at Ryan Ledson & George Green and along came Tom Davies instead. As long as we're not spending silly money then it's worth failing with a few Henens if we end up with the next African or European wonderkid somewhere down the line.

This is all part of building Everton back up into a top tier club. Look at Chelsea's and Man City's U23 teams full of talented youngsters from all over. I think our system of bringing through local talent is better as it will breed a stronger identity for the club and these players will have a bit more loyalty, but we should be looking to augment it with worldwide talent and let the cream rise to the top.

With Everton (maybe) being interested in him, looks like we have leapfrogged both clubs. A new experience for us, lol!

Anyway, Onyekuru received an entry visa for the UK last week, presumably to visit Finch Farm (hopefully).

That's not as powerful as a real work permit, though, so he has to play elsewhere in Europe, Belgium being the obvious choice. Anderlecht get a quality starlet for a year, and we hopefully get the next big thing the following season. A win -in in my book.

This is exactly what we need to be doing to breach the gap – investing heavily in top youth prospects from around the world.

I am all for this move.

Fee of about £7m reportedly.

This window gets better and better. My main anxiety is over Sandro – hopefully we can confirm him later this, or early next, week.

There will be failures but the success rate will continue to make it well worth the time and effort, plus it will be financially successful.

And is there any news on the development of the lad who was taken back on as a recovery plan from getting involved with drugs? (I forget his name...)

If the Sandro deal is just waiting to be announced and we get the young QPR kid, that will be 5 signings before 1 July.

I can't cope with this...

Starting again with the U23 squad when pre-season gets underway, I believe.

A potential absolute steal and superstar, hopefully we see Ademola and Henry ripping defences to shreds next season.

He was released by us last year and then went play for a local non-league side.

From there he was picked up by Burnley, but they have also released him at the end of this month.

Link

After his loan spell at Tranmere, a very brief spell at Oldham (where, apparently, he confidently told his team mates he wouldn't be there too long as he was destined for greater things), he played just 4 games for Ossett Albion in the NPL Division 1 North (the 8th tier of English football) for a manager he said 'understood him.'

Sean Dyche and Burnley took a punt on him in 2015, but he never got a game for them either in the Championship or Premier League before last season being loaned out to first Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premier League and Salford City in National League North. I'm not sure if Burnley still hold his registration.

He hasn't helped himself, but quite possibly he didn't get the necessary support and help a kid of 15-16 needed either.

I presume t'other one refers to is Jose Baxter, who was released by Sheffield United after the (second?) of proven positive drug tests against him in 2-3 years.

Everton reached out to him and I believe he is still at the club, more in a youth coaching role than as a player, probably with the caveat he can join a club willing to take him on as a player again.

Two tales of 'what-might-have-been.'

A lot of money for someone if it's just a gamble.

How is it a gamble?

First of all – £7mil is nothing in today's market!

Secondly – he was the top scorer in the Belgium league

Lastly – he's 20 years old...

I think he'll be a great addition. Although I'd like him to come straight into the team, I think a year at Anderlecht will be great for him and make him a much better player!

Next season, hopefully he will be even better. A steal for the price we paid! Great business.

From his YouTube highlights he looks very fast and skillful and looks like a very exciting young prospect. It looks like we've beaten Arsenal to his signature

It's just a pity we can't get him for this season. I always feel that to sign a player and loan him out for a year often never works out in the end. Look at Origi for the RS.

I wonder will we see Shani Tarashaj back in the squad this summer? He didn't seem to do too well in Germany.

The last year or so we certainly seem to have brought in a lot of players under 25 which is great.

This young Henry is a very tricky customer – I can see him playing in a wide position, actually quite similar to Lookman in style.

Other top youngsters are being brought in, or have already been brought in, and it's beginning to look like we have a focused outlook on the near to mid term future.

If we are successful in our pursuit of Keane from Burnley, I for one will be even more impressed. Pour cold water on it all you negative miserable types but this is definitely the early sign of the beginning of our journey to the upper echelons.

At the start of the video it gives some stats and - as you will see - he is a Lookman-like short-arse, 1m 75. He just turned 20 - 5 June - so that means the YouTube compilation from the 2016-17 season he was just 19-years-old.

His default position is listed as left wing, but is right-footed, and his strengths are listed as pace, dribbling, flair and anticipation. Watch the video and you'll see why! His single weakness is described as teamwork, but when you see the passes he puts in for assists, that seems questionable.

He scored 22 goals in 38 league games with 9 assists, 2 goals in 3 Belgian cup games – and you can see him win 3-4 penalties in the video also.

Add to that that his team Eupen was playing its first season in the Belgian top league (they finished 4th from bottom) and his stats are even more impressive.

Interestingly, Eupen is used as a feeder club by the Qatar Aspire Foundation who also own PSG. Hmmm... a niggle of doubt why they wouldn't want to retain the lad with the future intention of promoting him to PSG.

But check out the video. If we have secured the lad for the price mentioned it looks more than a reasonable punt. He has a bit of the Alexis Sanchez about him if I had to compare him to a known player - and he's pretty decent!

He will certainly bring more 'productivity' that Koeman desires. He doesn't play with wing mirrors, looking backwards! He has one direction: FORWARD! And it's pedal to the metal ALL the time! There are 1-2 moments in the video where I had to replay it as I wondered 'how the feck did he do that/get out of that?!'

Pretty impressive I have to say, as someone who is always wary of YouTube player compilations.

Some of the previous posts were talking about youth players that didn't make it etc...

Different management team, different scouts, different player. Why are people so negative?

We've been signing youth players for years and years. Did you miss the signings of Stones, Holgate, Henen, Tarashaj, Rodriguez, Vellios, Francisco Junior, Galloway, Sam Byrne, Matthew Kennedy, Ben McLaughlin, Magaye Gueye.

All youth signings with "great promise". As with all youth signings, only a small number actually make the step up.

Or... are you more a classic wax cylinder man?

I know it's YouTube, but he does look pretty decent given his age and the level of team he plays for, doesn't he?

A swap of Keane & Gray for McCarthy and Niasse??

Yes, Henry looks like he has great potential which hopefully he will turn into an outstanding talent when he comes to Everton for the 2018-19 season. I like his name as well, nice and easy to remember... Henry – does it remind you of anyone?

Things are starting to get very interesting and very exciting about Everton Football Club.

;-)

A very good find and with the possibility of Dembele, Sandro and hopefully Giroud we could have the makings of the best forward line up since Sharp, Heath and Lineker.

Hope he gets the Number 14 jersey with Henry on his back.

And by the way it was only about a shilling (5p) to get in, that's if you paid.

Seriously, great to watch and quick mind as well as feet. Well chuffed.

We buy young talented players and allow them to join sides were there comfortable. I suggested a similar approach to Michael Keane in January were as we pay for him (before his call up), we would have got him for £15m tops and had the lad in place for £10m cheaper than he's currently going to go for.

This lad looks talented but raw, signing him now and loaning him to the biggest team in the country he is already comfortable in is perfect for all concerned.

A good Photoshop job if fabricated.

Link

If this kid doesn't define "electrifying"; what 20-year old youngster does? Jesus.

Get him in.

Leave him to his loan-out season; then straight to Goodison.

Regarding the video, a few things:

The number of defenders who simply gave up and kicked him down.

Given his size:

The times he either hand-fought the defender off or bounced off him. All while maintaining possession and attacking!

On the negative, Henry might not possess Delboy's "insane, blistering counter-attacking pace." Or ball-skill, or diving and arm-waving ability (He's young yet, Henry is).

Perhaps not a fitting replacement for Deulofeu.

Fingers crossed and we'll see.

Perhaps not a fitting replacement for Deulofeu."

Are you kidding? I've just watched his video and he beats Del boy hands down in all departments! I've not seen a more talented player than Henry in years!

It's just a pity that he's not here for this season, we have no one better than him at the moment. I can't wait to see him play for us.

During the course of his one-year deal with Anderlecht , the Belgium side will pay 40% of his wages with Everton having the option of terminating the loan deal or recalling him in January (assuming his work permit occurs).

Basically Everton are trying to bring him here ASAP.

Hoping and praying that the Sandro and Keane deals work out. Personally, I would like Deulofeu and Barkley and McCarthy (but fully fit please) to stay. In that case, I would like the club to shed: Mirallas, Lennon, Besic, McGeady, Niasse.

And get in 1 classy creative mid-field/winger - with Lukaku leaving, use the money to bring in a top MF and a top Left Back - cheeky bid for Shaw? (Baines does not cut it anymore)

This is how we could line up at the end of next season:

Pickford
Kenny Keane Williams Shaw
Gana
Klaassen Schneiderlin Barkley
Onyekuru Sandro

2nd Team:

Robles
Holgate Jags Funes-Mori Baines
McCarthy Barry Davies
Deulofeu Lookman Bolasie

Can't wait for the season to start!

Also I don't think we will start with players like Sandro and Lookman or Onyekuru down the middle. We will need Lukaku or a replacement with a bit of physical presence.

I suspect we will have a 4-3-3 which means Gana and Schneiderlin as holding midfielders with Klaassen in front of them. The width then comes from the attacking full backs and wide attackers like Sandro, Lookman and Onyekuru or Bolasie.

So my line up would be:

Pickford
Coleman Keane Jagielka Baines
Gana Schneiderlin
Klaassen
Bolaise Lukaku Sandro

We are Everton. We do not do that.

Aaron's contract expires at the end of next season. Yes, it will cost the club money but a person's mental health is worth more. I think the club should support him until then end of his contract.

If he is mentally fit enough to play, then loan him out – why not to places like Tranmere, Chester, Southport where he can play just for the fun of playing because he should be more than just one class above the rest of the players.

But what we should not do is "shed him" like a unwanted toy. He is a human being, a fragile human being at the moment.

I also think he can bounce back strong. If Alistair Campbell can bounce back and go on to bully MPs, newspapers and everyone he meets (See "The Thick of It" for the caricature) then no reason why Aaron can't recover and get back to what he was, or even stronger mentally.

I wouldn't give up on him. I really see a top class wing back in him and would love to see him have a long run at it.

Did Everton offer him to them because he would get Champions League experience or I wonder were they also chasing him?

I really hope he can join us in January as that will really give us a big boost. If he plays Champions League for Anderlecht can he still play in the Europa League for us in January/February if we're still in it?

Like the the rest of us Moshiri will be expecting big things from our club next season but we have been doing that since the Eighties, have we not?

If they can get the central defender and target forward sorted soon, I will feel more confident, and all the other issues regarding peripheral squad players can wait.

Someone in the Delboy thread referred to his, "insane, blistering counter-attacking pace", which he simply doesn't possess. Or if hen does, he must be saving it for some special occasion.

With all the push and pull in here regarding Geri's merits, " insane, blistering counter-attacking pace" should never be part of the discussion. But the phrase just stuck with me.

Looking at the video Jay posted, I thought, "Now THAT'S insane, blistering pace." And, so, my joking.

Looking at the video, another comparison is how this boy Henry FIGHTS for possession of the ball. Not jumping out like Delboy always does.

Gerard out and Henry in? All day long for me.

As long as he can handle the off-field shenanigans, he look a good punt.

"I've read it's down to work-permit issues." Yet he can play in another EU country but not here? Just shows what a joke the EU has been when some things are required in some countries yet not others. And they bang on about standardisation.

Of course, just two years ago, the paciest player in the entire Premier League was a fella named Jagielka.

If he were an EU citizen then he could play anywhere in the EU – so yes, there is standardization, and there is a whole of hassle it removes.

Honestly reminds me of a young Rooney, watching those clips, and I just hope that a contract of £37k a week doesn't distract the kid from what he does best. He looks like a really great find; I'm already looking forward to watching both him and Sandro, playing for the mighty Everton!

It seems he was all set to join PSG (apparently they agreed terms and he passed a medical) before news of the Everton deal unexpectedly broke, hence why they are supposedly a bit pissed off with him.

An ever reliable "source close to the player" puts his sudden change of heart down to a desire to play in England and the fact Everton "offered a better wage"... (Link).

To balance out all the rich praise he's been receiving on this thread (on the back of what amounts to a brief but impressive show reel) it seems there have been a few question marks raised about his attitude in his brief career thus far. He has been described as "selfish", "not a team player" and actually went AWOL for a period last season. He was seemingly so desperate to join Celtic back in January that he pulled a disappearing act for a few games (effectively going on strike) in protest over his club refusing to sanction a move mid-season.

Not that I'm worried or anything. Just like I wasn't worried when we were linked with 'not me behind the wheel' Niang or the 'not me behind!' bad bell from Burnley.

After all, it's not like the probingly thorough and inquisitive "character" checks Steve Walsh promised his team would be conducting into potential targets can be bypassed as easily as those of that fat bloke who was almost struck completely blind by the sight of Catherine Trammel's bearded taco in Basic Instinct, is it?

Nah.

Being proactive, getting in first and taking a punt on young, exciting but raw prospects with the potential to be special, before the so called big clubs can scoop them up and add them to their galley of 'kids we groomed earlier', is something I've long thought could be the only way of making up real ground on our former peers who pegged it away and left us choking on their fumes too fucking long ago.

So, Yeah. I'm all for this.

I stand erected.

Sorry, David, it went off in my hand!

Seems a bit of a contradiction there, "If he were an EU citizen then he could play anywhere in the EU – so yes there is standardization" yet " Belgium can apply its own rules"?

Either the same rules apply to all or .just seems a bit strange.

This remains pure speculation until the official club photo shoot of the lad in Everton colours at Finch Farm, but I thought it strange that PSG didn't take up the option of Qatar Aspire's (probable) best talent at their feeder club, Eupen.

Presumably it was the QA/PSG combo that scouted, recruited and placed the lad at Eupen, with a career path mapped out for him to progress to PSG if any good, or sell him on at any price if he didn't pull up trees.

I'm a tad surprised, if your linked report is true, that QA/PSG weren't astute enough to include a contract clause that would prevent the (still only rumoured) kind of coup Everton has (allegedly) pulled off.

As for a 19-year-old, far away from home, being considered 'selfish' or getting a cob on for not getting his own way, I don't think that is necessarily a character flaw. Rather, I think it is obligatory forall 19-year-olds!

Like you, I believe this is the sort of player we should be targeting: 'getting in first and taking a punt on young, exciting but raw prospects with the potential to be special, before the so called big clubs can scoop them up.'

I mostly take a holiday from TW during the transfer season, but I doubt any one who watches Henry's video will fail to be impressed. He has a helluva lot to his game for one so young.

nb: Does any one know what is happening with Donkor, who started bright last season late on for Unsie's team and got injured?

The lad looks a natural footy player with pace. Now for Sandro, and some more.

Or, are we simply more better informed? Or both.

However things truly are, I feel encouraged. More upward looking, less apologetic, in fact just not bloody apologetic at all.

Even being talked about not as aspiring giants, or even awakened giants, but returning giants? Yes, I heard this on the radio in my van...

"Returning Giants Everton."

Tell me just how many times have any of us heard that in the last two decades?

All this talk about a £100 Million rated Mdappe and we sign this kid for £7 Million!?

Over time the Arsenal sides of old boasted of Wright, Berkamp, Anelka and Henry. I'm seeing something evolving at Everton which excites me like their golden age.

I'm hoping we sign Dembele (20) and Giroud (30) or a young like for like player. Along with Sandro (21) and Onyekuru (20). That is a front line that one day could give pause to almost any opposition in the Premier League if not Europe.

Considering how well Defoe and Zlatan are doing in their 30s, I think he would be well worth a gamble on. It would be very annoying to see him move to West Ham and having to watch him do well there as they could well be one of our rivals again next season.