Season › 2022-23 › News Luke Butterfield signs new 3-year deal Michael Kenrick 05/10/2022 11comments | Jump to last Everton Under-21s midfielder Luke Butterfield, who is currently sidelined with a knee injury, has signed a new 3-year deal with the club.This comes well in advance of his current 3-year deal expiring in July 2023 and signals further commitment the club is making to promising youngsters coming through the ranks of the Academy. Born in Yorkshire, Butterfield has been capped by Scotland at Under-16 level. He joined Everton's Academy at Under-12 level from Blackburn Rovers and has impressed throughout.Butterfield emerged as a key player for Paul Tait's Everton Under-18s in 2020-21 and produced the most exhilarating moment of the campaign when he scored a stunning 98th-minute winner to knock holders Manchester City out of the FA Youth Cup at the 4th Round stage. Article continues below video content As well as being a consistent starter for Everton Under-18s, Butterfield made six appearances for David Unsworth's Under-23s in 2020-21 and moved up to secure his place at that level from the start of the 2021-22 season.However, he would drop back down to the U18s for a few months in mid-season, before returning to appear in a total of 20 games for the U23s. This season started badly for Luke when he sustained a knee injury in the second game of the U21s new season. Reader Comments (11) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer () Michael Kenrick 1 Posted 05/10/2022 at 22:32:42 Wow, I think that's 3 in the last week! It might be because they've all had birthdays in September. But this is yet another one extending the experience base of the Finch Farm physios in rehab with, yes, yet another knee injury. Brent Stephens 2 Posted 05/10/2022 at 22:40:40 Interesting the last 3 (?) contract extensions have been for 3 years?. Are we getting smarter here? Brent Stephens 3 Posted 05/10/2022 at 22:51:29 Catch up, Brent. Welch 4 years, Metcalfe 4 years. Michael Kenrick 4 Posted 06/10/2022 at 20:28:00 I probably shouldn't take this off-topic and I'm not sure that Tony Abrahams is tracking this thread but I'd be curious to know what might have been said (if anything) about Liam Higgins?He's a 19-year-old Academy defender but the strange thing is he hardly ever plays. He managed to feature in just two U23 games last season. Yet was given his first professional contract of just 1 year last summer – that was on the back of a scholarship that had been extended to 3 years. The recent flurry of Academy contracts has had me checking through all our info, and he is indeed a strange one. Only mention that I can find of him having injury problems is a comment he made when he signed that 1-year deal. Michael Kenrick 5 Posted 06/10/2022 at 20:28:00 I probably shouldn't take this off-topic and I'm not sure that Tony Abrahams is tracking this thread but I'd be curious to know what might have been said (if anything) about Liam Higgins?He's a 19-year-old Academy defender but the strange thing is he hardly ever plays. He managed to feature in just two U23 games last season. Yet was given his first professional contract of just 1 year last summer – that was on the back of a scholarship that had been extended to 3 years. The recent flurry of Academy contracts has had me checking through all our info, and he is indeed a strange one. Only mention that I can find of him having injury problems is a comment he made when he signed that 1-year deal. Tony Everan 6 Posted 06/10/2022 at 20:41:20 There seems to be more of a poaching business going on nowadays, clubs scouting other clubs' promising youngsters. There will be files on the ones whose contracts are expiring. I think it's good business to be giving the most potential slightly longer contracts to develop with us and probably hardly registers on the balance sheet. Tony Abrahams 7 Posted 06/10/2022 at 20:56:30 I've never heard of the lad, Michael, but for a club like Everton, to give someone an extended scholarship, is very unusual. I thought this was something that was brought in for, and also more commonly used, by the lower league clubs, because they have very little money, but it's a positive imo, because it helps to keep young kids in the game, that little bit longer to see how they develop. I think he must have had a serious injury, but Everton must see something in the kid, because it's unusual to get a professional contract if you are not playing regular football. Michael Kenrick 8 Posted 06/10/2022 at 21:13:25 Thanks, Tony @7 I think your last paragraph sums it up.And I'd like to think the first sentence is because it looks like we failed to report that contract signing when it happened at the end of June, so you can blame me – falling down on the job! Michael Kenrick 9 Posted 06/10/2022 at 21:19:04 Visions of Moyes and his whiteboard sequestered behind the door of a Finch Farm closet conjured up there, Tony @6.Of course, in this day and age, it's all done on spreadsheets, databases, or purpose-built apps on their iPads. Tony Abrahams 10 Posted 06/10/2022 at 21:43:10 That's not like you Michael, because you normally love this type of thing, just like some people love riding down memory lane! I hope the kid Higgins, gets himself fit, and makes a name for himself in the future, because sitting on the treatment table for a long period of time must be soul destroying, but sometimes it helps to build character and can also give kids the steely determination that's needed, to really make the grade🤞 James Flynn 11 Posted 07/10/2022 at 22:34:30 Not a highlight reel, but shows his individual skill training.Link Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. How to get rid of these ads and support TW © ToffeeWeb