Everton teenager Ishe Samuels-Smith must be on plane to Australia after rapid rise
Everton are set to jet off to the land down under on Tuesday (15 November) to take part in the Sydney Super Cup in Australia.
A number of Frank Lampard’s senior players are not available for the trip having been called up to play for their countries in the Qatar World Cup which has opened the door for new blood to get a chance.
According to Liverpool Echo reporter Joe Thomas, a number of academy players are expected to be on the plane to Australia in order to make up the numbers and try to prove a point to the manager.
“Everton due to depart for Australia for Sydney Super Cup later,” he said via his personal Twitter account. “Squad will be missing some key players due to World Cup/international friendlies.
“Some Under-21s likely to be on plane. Games v Celtic and Western Sydney Wanderers before squad breaks and returns to training around 8 December.”
The exact identity of these Under-21 players is as yet unknown but the likes of Tom Cannon and Stanley Mills should be among them having recently made their senior debuts in the Carabao Cup.
But one name perhaps less likely to be heading down under is Ishe Samuels-Smith but he simply must be among them if Lampard has room on the flight.
At just 16 years of age, he has already made a matchday squad for the Toffees and chose to sign on at Finch Farm rather than move to another Premier League club in the summer amid a lot of interest.
His rise to being a regular feature in the youth sides at Goodison Park has been remarkably rapid and he now needs exposure to the senior team in a no-pressure environment.
It might be unfair on somebody else for him to go instead of them but when a talent as bright as this emerges they need to be given the full treatment to try and maximise what they have in store.