Brett Ormerod blown away by Everton youngster Ellis Simms progress at Blackpool
BBC Radio Lancashire pundit Brett Ormerod has been blown away by the progress Ellis Simms has made since the Everton youngster joined Blackpool on loan in January.
Simms’ loan deal has so far been a great success with the 20-year-old striker scoring eight goals in 21 League One appearances for Blackpool, with three of those goals coming in his last two appearances.
Neil Critchley’s side are now set to embark on the League One playoffs with a semi-final clash against Oxford United pencilled in for next week.
Simms has played a big role in helping the Bloomfield Road club make the playoffs and ex-Blackpool striker Ormerod is delighted by what he’s seen from the Toffees youngster.
“You can see that his confidence has just grown. Not many sides play with two up front anymore. When Madine got injured, Simms came in and made that position his own. He was pretty raw when he first came in but it’s been a really, really good loan for him,” Ormerod told The Athletic.
“He’ll have learned a lot under Critchley, who is a great manager. He’s been fantastic for Blackpool and Blackpool have been fantastic for him. He’s made massive strides, scoring some fantastic goals, and he’s only 20.
“If he keeps his head down then who knows. You improve through experience. He’s got everything in the locker that you need as a forward.”
One for next season?
According to The Athletic, Simms’ form in League One has already started to attract attention from the Championship as we assume second-tier clubs eye up the in-form striker with the view to a loan deal.
We can totally understand that and we can also understand the merit of sending Simms out on loan again but to this time a higher level.
If Blackpool win promotion it would be good to see him return to Bloomfield Road as he knows the club, the players and the manager and coaching staff.
It would make a lot of sense.
But what if Simms had a role to play down the North-West coast at Goodison Park?
The Athletic reports Everton are “pleased” with the striker’s development at Blackpool and that “he is likely to return to Goodison for pre-season this summer until the relevant discussions take place”.
It would definitely be worthwhile handing Simms a call-up to Carlo Ancelotti’s senior squad for the pre-season period before making a decision later on in the summer.
Whatever happens, Simms cannot go back to playing Premier League 2 football for the Under-23s because, as proven this season with eight goals in 12 games, he finds it too easy.
Simms is a Championship-level striker now based on what we’ve seen this season and due to his age, you would assume that means he’s a Premier League striker in the making.
In other Everton news, the Blues will be favourites to sign this striker if they sell Moise Kean to Paris Saint-Germain.
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