Tom Cannon could take Ellis Simms place in Everton squad amid potential multi-million pound exit
Everton could hand youngster Tom Cannon a place in the first-team squad in the 2023/24 season should they receive an acceptable offer for Ellis Simms.
Cannon spent the second half of the 2022/23 season on loan at Preston, earning rave reviews from the likes of Jeff Stelling after netting eight goals in 21 games, while Simms returned from loan at Sunderland to spend the second half of the season at Everton but scored just once.
Now after admitting that Simms could be allowed to leave to free up funds for the summer window, Liverpool Echo journalist Joe Thomas told Sunderland Echo (6 June) that it could be Cannon who takes his place in the squad.
“The decision will likely have been made already and be based on Dyche’s views having watched him since late January,” he said.
“But it may simply come down to how much another club would be willing to pay for him.
“Another factor will be the progress of academy striker Tom Cannon, who spent the second half of the season at Preston and impressed.”
Opportunity
Everton fans love nothing better than seeing academy prospects be given a chance in the first-team squad to prove themselves as worthy of sticking around.
We’ve seen it recently with the likes of Jarrad Branthwaite briefly, Tom Davies for longer and Anthony Gordon too, and fans took to all of them while they were playing in the first-team.
Simms was given a relatively small opportunity under Dyche and still managed to get a goal against Chelsea in a result that ultimately helped the club secure survival.
But as he enters the final year of his contract at Goodison Park, it could be the last chance to cash in on him and we already have another academy prospect who is younger and ready to take their chance too.
It seems like the best option for all, but only if we’re able to put the money towards a new striker who will start games and lead the line regularly.