Sean Dyche forced to sell Everton ‘lifeblood’ thanks to ‘problems’ amid Ishe Samuels-Smith exit to Chelsea – Sky Sports pundit
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It’s “harsh” at Everton but Sean Dyche is currently forced to sell the “lifeblood” of the club to generate funds in the transfer market, says Kevin Campbell.
Ishe Samuels-Smith was seen as the heir-apparent to Toffees legend Leighton Baines at left-back but the teenager has now left the club for Chelsea in a £4million deal, hot on the heels of Ellis Simms moving to Coventry for £8m.
And according to Campbell, for two academy products to leave, as the same time as homegrown Tom Davies rejected a new contract and went as well, is a symptom of a club “in problems”.
Speaking exclusively to Goodison News the Sky Sports pundit said: “Listen, the club’s in problems. It’s all a problem at the moment.
“So until the football club’s on a strong footing this is the way it’s going to have to be run.
“You’re going to have to, unfortunately, sell your talented kids, which should be the lifeblood of your club.
“But because there’s such issues there right now and the manager needs to generate funds, that comes from the youth and lads leaving and saving themselves money.
“So that’s what they have to do, they have to cut their cloth accordingly.
“It’s harsh, it is harsh. But it’s something that Sean Dyche has to do.”
Davies’ departure in itself might not be a huge blow after the 24-year-old’s role diminished in recent seasons, and Simms’ sale might not set alarm bells ringing if Everton weren’t so hard up for goal scorers.
But for both to leave on top of seeing one of the major academy talents in Samuels-Smith sold off for a relatively small fee, before he’s had a chance to break into the first team, starts to look like a damaging exodus.
Cash now to put towards immediate reinforcements is more valuable than potential production down the line though with Dyche forced to confront the fact that this side have barely escaped relegation twice in succession.
If the 17-year-old goes on to be a big success at Stamford Bridge, or elsewhere, it will sting but not as much as dropping into the Championship, so the manager has clearly had to make sacrifices.
In other Everton news, the pursuit is not dead as talks are “ongoing” between the Toffees and a former rival after a bid was tabled for an exciting attacking target.