Everton transfer news: Wonderkid Ishe Samuels-Smith in demand as Chelsea eye bid ahead of Manchester City and Tottenham
Chelsea are “weighing up an offer” for Everton teenager Ishe Samuels-Smith as the left-back attracts increasing interest, the Daily Mail reports.
Treble-winners Manchester City and Tottenham are also in the hunt for the young defender, who’s brother Odin plays for the Toffees youth sides as well.
The trio of Premier League giants have reportedly been on Ishe’s trail for the past year, and now the Stamford Bridge side are considering making the first move in the race.
According to the Daily Mail report on Monday (3 July) the full-back, who turned 17 last month and has been part of the first-team squad at Goodison Park since September has been hailed as the “next Leighton Baines”.
Key talent?
Everton would dearly love to have the former England left-back and current Toffees under-18s coach in the line up these days, not least when Sean Dyche was forced to overcome a major injury crisis at full-back in the closing weeks of the relegation battle.
So if Samuels-Smith is rated as highly as to be considered an heir apparent to the former Goodison star it would be painful to lose him before he gets the chance to break through.
Clearly he is a talented player and hopes are high for him at Finch Farm, but it appears that hasn’t gone unnoticed elsewhere either.
Vitalii Mykolenko hasn’t been a bad signing but whether he was a downgrade on Lucas Digne is a question that likely remains in the backs of many Everton supporters’ minds.
And full-back has been named, alongside attackers as always, as one of Dyche’s transfer priorities this summer.
It is likely slightly too early to view the elder of the Samuels-Smith siblings as ready to be part of the answer in the first-team, but it would still be unfortunate to lose a top homegrown talent just before the point where that arrives.
If a sizeable offer comes from one of the big spenders then Everton might be obliged to take it in the current financial climate, but perhaps from the club’s perspective it would be preferable if Chelsea held off and the youngster got a chance to make an impact at Everton and if he has to go it could be in a few years time for big money.
In other Everton news, Farhad Moshiri has entered talks with a prospective new board member who could even be the ultimate replacement for Bill Kenwright as chairman.