Michael Kenrick 02/07/2024 6comments  |  Jump to last

Everton have a new batch of young players who have become full-time scholars in the Under-18 squad for next season.

Ademide Akarakiri  
Attacking-midfielder Akarakiri joined Everton this season after spending 10 years at Arsenal. The young prospect – who is from London – describes running with the ball as his best attribute, along with his passing range.

Freddie Freedman  
Freedman is a centre-back who identifies his aggression as one of his key traits. He joins Everton from Manchester United and says Paulo Maldini is his football idol.

Luis Gardner  
A lifelong Evertonian who played for the U18s last season, Gardner is a youth international for Wales and joined Everton aged just 6 years old. He's a central-midfielder and says passing is his best attribute, while labelling Lionel Messi as his football role model.

Article continues below video content


Goodness Gospel-Eze
Gospel-Eze is a young goalkeeper who joined Everton in 2024. Originally from Nigeria, he believes his shot-stopping and distribution are his best skills.

Braiden Graham  
A promising young striker, Graham joined Everton in 2024 from Linfield, where he became the club’s youngest-ever player, making his first-team debut in March 2023 at just 15 years and 137 days old.

Rocco Lambert   
Lambert is a versatile young player, who can operate in midfield and at right-back. He joined the Blues at the end of the Under-14 season and has already featured for the U18s.

Ceiran Loney  
Young forward Loney is an exciting striker, who notes his physicality and finishing as his top traits. From Glasgow, Loney’s football idol is Cristiano Ronaldo, while his favourite Everton player is Toffees striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Douglass Lukjanciks
Talented goalkeeper Lukjanciks is an England Under-17s international, who joined Everton as an Under-12 and was a regular for the U18s last season.

Melvin Matos
Midfielder Matos who is from Bedford and joined Everton in 2024. says his energy, tenacity and ability to break up play are his best attributes, and growing up, he enjoyed watching N’Golo Kante and Claude Makelele.

Louis Poland
From Liverpool, Poland is a young left-back and says his passing is among his best traits. Blues full-back Vitalii Mykolenko is his favourite Everton player to watch.

Charlie Stewart
Right-winger Stewart is from Manchester and joined Everton aged 8. His best trait is his pace and ability to run at defenders.

Kean Wren
Wren joined Everton in 2015 and his favourite Blues player is Dominic Calvert-Lewin. A left-winger, Wren is from Halifax and describes his dribbling, shooting and passion as some of his key traits.

 

Reader Comments (6)

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Phill Thompson
1 Posted 02/07/2024 at 21:50:12
Well, we've also got a new Scholar who's come from Arsenal, Demi Akarakiri, Freddie Freeman who's come from Man Utd and 5 others, making a total of 7, that we've signed in 2024.

Two of these, Ceiran Loney and Braiden Graham, are regarded as hot prospects. At 16, they're a long way off the first team.

Peter Gorman
2 Posted 03/07/2024 at 11:37:49
Let's meet the latest scholars!

Link

Looking forward to seeing the ginger boys up front, Graham and Loney, a Scottish and Norn little and large partnership in the making. Or a cabaret act.

In goal we have two fabulously named keepers and one who is also an England youth international, Lukjanciks. But he loses out to the even better named Goodness Gospel-Eze as my top hope to make a breakthrough, just because I can hear the commentators now.

Feel free to cheer or pooh-pooh them as your hearts desire.

Dave Abrahams
3 Posted 03/07/2024 at 11:56:00
Peter, Thanks for the link.

I hope we get three or four future Everton stars from those young lads.

Best of luck to all of them especially Louis Poland who looks like the only Scouse lad amongst them.

Kevin Prytherch
4 Posted 03/07/2024 at 13:03:34
4:20 Great goal from Rocco Lambert

https://youtu.be/jz13dC1D0Mg?feature=shared

Phil (Kelsall) Roberts
5 Posted 04/07/2024 at 08:09:37
I know he was an exceptional talent. A once in a generation.

But Phill, At 16, they're a long way off the first team even if we leave out Wayne Rooney (16yr 11m) we still have:

Jeffers - 18yr 7m
Vaughan - 16yr 10m
Davies - 17yr 10m
Rodwell - 17yr less 2 days
Barkley - 17yr 9m

If they are really going to make it, we should be looking at them into the 1st XI by the end of this season, definitely by the end of our first in the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and, if not by then, start looking to loan them out with a view to giving them experience, a sale value and a career.

Interesting thought. I worked in Accountancy. How many graduates join a big firm to learn and then move elsewhere because they are not going to make it big at the big firm? I also did purchasing.

One smaller flour miller moaned that Rank Hovis McDougall had reduced their graduate intake so this company were struggling to find new managers because they relied on RHM to do the training, keep the brilliant, and discard the good. At least we usually get something back from the training – RHM and the Accountancy companies don't.

Brian Williams
6 Posted 05/07/2024 at 06:35:45
I see we've signed Ceiran Loney, a future "superstar", from Partick Thistle and it's so refreshing to read what Partick Thistle had to say about the club. Cue the numerous negative comments.

Upon his departure, Partick’s academy director Craig Dargo said: “We’re all extremely proud of Ceiran both as a footballer and as a young person as he begins the next chapter of his journey at the Everton Academy, a truly excellent place for him to continue his development. We must thank Everton Football Club and the Everton Academy for their professionalism and respect shown throughout their dealings with the football club, the academy, Ceiran and his family.”

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