Everton striker Ellis Simms outlines future plans after ‘huge’ boost in Chelsea win
Everton striker Ellis Simms has outlined his future plans for the Toffees after netting his first goal for the club in Saturday’s (18 March) draw with Chelsea.
The 22-year-old scored a dramatic equaliser in the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge to earn a potentially crucial point for Everton in their fight for Premier League survival.
And Simms, who represented Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers in his youth, is now keen to push on following his fine goal against the Blues.
“[Scoring my first goal] is a huge confidence boost,” said Simms, as quoted by the official Everton website. “I’m a striker — I love scoring goals. When the ball hits the back of the net it’s the best feeling.
“Hopefully now I can just kick on, I will keep working hard in training and see where that gets me, because I want to score more.”
Ready to push on
Simms became an instant hit with his well-taken goal at Stamford Bridge, but he hasn’t always been favoured since he joined Everton at the age of 16.
Like many other young players, the forward has been sent out on a handful of loan spells in his brief career so far, in a bid to prepare the striker for high-pressure situations like the one against Chelsea.
Simms regularly found the back of the net on his temporary spells at Blackpool, Hearts and Sunderland, with the Toffees realising his potential at the turn of the year by recalling him from the Black Cats.
And he has been handed plenty of minutes under new boss Sean Dyche, who could now turn to the youngster from the start after a run of appearances from the bench.
Everton have been bereft of goals this season amid the absence of the injured Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with Simms set to be handed a rare opportunity to really become a permanent fixture on the pitch.