Blackpool boss Critchley praises form of Everton loanee Simms
Blackpool manager Neil Critchley has sung the praises of Everton forward Ellis Simms, with the young loanee continuing to impress at Bloomfield Road.
The 20-year old striker joined the Tangerines in January in order to gain first-team football experience, having scored eight times in 12 Premier League 2 games for Everton’s Under-23s this season.
Since signing for the League One club however he hasn’t stopped scoring, with his eight goals in the league helping Blackpool cement their position in the play-offs.
Simms scored the only goal in Blackpool’s final day of the season win against Bristol Rovers, and talking after the game Critchley had plenty of praise for the Everton starlet.
When asked for his thoughts on Simms’ strike, via Blackpool’s official Youtube channel, former Liverpool coach Critchley said: “Yeah it was a great goal, a really good team goal from back to front – a really good break.
“Deme [Demetri Mitchell] did really well, I thought Deme played well. A lovely little cross and Ellis came in, came across his body and controlled his volley really well because you could easily see them sky over the crossbar.
“I think that’s eight goals for him now, so brilliant. Brilliant that we got the three points and brilliant that he keeps his little run going after scoring two in midweek.”
We like to see it
Ellis Simms is someone that Everton have had high hopes for, especially since he scored an extremely impressive 36 goals in 38 games for the club’s Under-18s.
Simms just needed to get first-team experience under his belt and he’s really taken to senior football like a duck to water this season, playing a major role in spearheading Blackpool’s promotion charge, and he’ll likely continue to play a major role in the upcoming play-offs.
Despite his form for the Tangerines however, Simms is probably still some way off playing for Everton’s senior set-up, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin unlikely to find himself threatened by the 20-year old.
Should the Toffees allow him to leave on loan next summer and should he continue to pick up minutes and score goals as comfortably as he has managed at Bloomfield Road, then he could have every chance of breaking through at Goodison Park in the not-so-distant future.
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