Season › 2024-25 › News Everton sign up another academy prospect in Joel Catesby Michael Kenrick 01/08/2024 22comments | Jump to last Everton have secured the signature of another young academy player on his first professional contract, with the winger Joel Catesby penning a 3-year deal until the end of June 2027. The 17-year-old – who is a lifelong Evertonian – has been with the Blues since the age of four, and played for both the Under-18s and Under-21s last season. “It’s a pleasure to sign this new deal,” Catesby told evertontv. “I’ve developed a lot as a player over the years. Being here for 13 years, I’ve matured a lot. “Last season ended up being a positive season for me. I had an injury in the middle of the campaign but got over that and came back stronger and finished with the Under-21s.” The Wirral-born winger made 14 league appearances for Everton Under-18s during 2023-24, scoring 5 goals and making 3 assists. Catesby – who says scoring against Liverpool was his highlight of last season – enjoys working with Under-18s Head Coach Leighton Baines: “It’s a pleasure to work with [Baines] every day,” he added. “Being an Evertonian, I’ve seen how good of a player he was, and you can get good experience from him. “My targets for the upcoming season are to start strong with the Under-18s and then hopefully push on to the ‘21s. My ambition is to eventually play with the Senior Team and break through.” On Catesby’s first professional contract, Everton Director of Football, Kevin Thelwell, said: “Joel’s been at the Club for a long time and he’s continued to make encouraging progress through the age groups. “He’s an exciting player to watch and impressed last season as a first-year scholar. We’re looking forward to seeing him develop in the coming years with our Academy.” Reader Comments (22) 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 () James Flynn 1 Posted 01/08/2024 at 13:48:35 Anyone seen him? Is he fast? John Graham 2 Posted 01/08/2024 at 14:07:03 Good luck, Joel.Still some rocky times ahead for you I guess, but just keep your head up and your confidence high.Look forward to you displaying your talents in a first-team shirt in the future. Ben King 3 Posted 01/08/2024 at 14:11:32 Hopefully our next Anthony Gordon but we can keep hold of him. Good luck, chap. Danny O’Neill 4 Posted 01/08/2024 at 14:37:34 Good luck young man. Work hard and be committed. Ability gets you so far. Mark Sheward 5 Posted 01/08/2024 at 14:58:15 Good news, I wish Joel a bright future with us. On Academy matters, does anyone know what is happening with Stanley Mills after his bad injury? Dave Abrahams 6 Posted 01/08/2024 at 15:13:11 Is Joel the youngest ever player to join the club — 4 years of ag!!!e Jesus they'll be signing them in nappies next!Nevertheless good luck Joel hope you make the grade with us. Habib Erkan Jr 7 Posted 01/08/2024 at 15:24:26 Congratulations, Joel!I wish you many memorable football moments and heroics in the coming years! Mal van Schaick 8 Posted 01/08/2024 at 16:11:12 Good luck, Joel.Let's hope that you make giant strides quickly and make it into the first team, and we can then watch your Everton passion in action. Kevin Molloy 9 Posted 01/08/2024 at 17:47:31 These kids all look like they've walked off a Dixon of Dock Green shot. Who'd have thought the fifties would be back with a bang? Colin Glassar 10 Posted 01/08/2024 at 18:44:57 How old is this kid, 12? Clive Rogers 11 Posted 01/08/2024 at 19:09:56 He looks about a quarter of Young's age. Mike Gaynes 12 Posted 01/08/2024 at 22:45:52 He signed at age FOUR? I'd love to know how the hell you scout a four-year-old. "Moves well when pursuing ice cream bar. Kicks brother with both feet. Coaches up well -- ties own shoes already. Eats well but stubborn at bedtime."Anyway, best of luck, young man! Colin Malone 13 Posted 02/08/2024 at 12:44:23 Squad full of wingers and defenders. Nothing down the middle, oh sorry, defensive midfielders. The blues, more like the claret and blues. John Pickles 14 Posted 02/08/2024 at 13:34:40 Was John Ebbrell the last Wirralian to make it through the Academy into the first team? John Pickles 15 Posted 02/08/2024 at 13:36:45 Nope, I see Harry Charsley made one Europa League appearance in 2017. Dave Abrahams 16 Posted 02/08/2024 at 13:39:10 John (14),Lewis Warrington made it to the first team, for the last few minutes in the last home game of the season 2023-24. John Pickles 17 Posted 02/08/2024 at 13:46:25 Ah, thanks Dave. Peter Gorman 18 Posted 02/08/2024 at 16:08:03 He is looking not so bad against East Bengal Carries the ball well. Marc Hints 19 Posted 02/08/2024 at 19:59:46 Looks like Garner out for a long period Billy Bradshaw 20 Posted 02/08/2024 at 20:39:51 More info Marc @ 19. Marc Hints 21 Posted 02/08/2024 at 20:43:08 Lots on Twitter, Billy, saying Garner done his hamstring. Billy Bradshaw 22 Posted 02/08/2024 at 20:45:22 Thanks Marc. 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