Forest Green loan could allow Everton defender Reece Welch to bridge first team gap
Young Everton defender Reece Welch has joined Forest Green on loan in an attempt to progress his development this season, according to Director of Football Kevin Thelwell.
The 19-year-old featured on the bench for the Toffees five times in the Premier League last season and played once in the Carabao Cup, all whilst making 23 appearances in the Premier League 2 for Everton’s U21 side.
Welch has now joined League Two side Forest Green Rovers temporarily for the 2023/24 campaign with Thelwell believing that the best course of action for the defender’s prospects is to gain experience further down the English football pyramid.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo after the deal was confirmed on Thursday (10 August) Thelwell said: “Reece has made excellent progress at Everton in recent years, showing there is a pathway from our academy to our men’s senior team.
“His first taste of going out on loan will give him vital experience in League One and will further support his development.”
Crop of youth
This past week has seen several young Everton players leave Goodison Park on loan, with Lewis Warrington joining Plymouth Argyle and Stanley Mills signing for Oxford United in what could be crucial parts of these young players’ development.
Currently, the Toffees need a majority of seasoned Premier League stars to navigate them through what is a very difficult spell in the club’s history and because of their recent struggles, they haven’t been able to blood young players into the first-team as they once did.
There is only so much that a player can learn from playing academy football and Welch is one of those examples of a player being stuck between too good for youth football, but not quite yet complete enough to break through into the Premier League.
Forest Green themselves are going through a difficult time having been relegated back to the third tier last season under Everton legend Duncan Ferguson and the experience of playing in League One amongst some of English football’s more difficult opponents will offer an excellent learning curve for Welch.
Hopefully, he can help Rovers have a decent season and return to Goodison a step closer to making a real impact on the first team, alongside his fellow loanees.
In other Everton news, Paul Merson has offered his thoughts on the Toffees’ season opener against Fulham