Everton at centre of 'interesting' situation as Josh Chigwada pulls the plug

Everton look set to lose out on academy star Josh Chigwada.

Chigwada is a highly rated youth player, having been one of Everton’s youngest-ever under-18s debutants.

At just 14 years old, the attacking midfielder was handed 24 minutes against Sunderland.

It was quite the showing of trust to put such a young player into the fray at an age group four years older than him.

However, that trust appears not to be reciprocated by the youth prospect himself.

Chigwada has now made a significant decision over his future and not in the favour of Everton.

What decision has Josh Chigwada made over Everton future?

Losing highly-rated academy players is not ideal for any club, but Everton appears to have been landed in that situation.

Despite handing Chigwada opportunities at quite a high level for his age, the young talent looks to want to continue his pathway into professional football elsewhere.

According to The Talent Hunter, Chigwada, who has spent eight-years in the Toffees academy, has officially deregistered from Everton.

This means that Chigwada is now free to seek opportunities with other clubs.

The situation has been described as "very interesting" as well as one "to keep an eye on."

Are Everton still entitled to compensation for Chigwada?

With Chigwada deregistering from Everton, it does not change Everton's entitlement to a fee from whichever club signs the prospect.

Club's in England are entitled to compensation for their academy stars if they move elsewhere to "cover training and development costs."

With Everton set up as a category one academy, they would be entilted to the maximum compensation for Chigwada.

Based on the fees reported on the Premier League's website, here is how much Everton could set to earn.

For the Foundation Phase (U9 to U11), Everton would receive around £3,000 per year - a total of £9,000.

While for the Youth Developmental Phase, Everton would receive £45,000 for U12, £60,000 for U13, and £80,000 for U14 (£185,000).

Overall, the total compensation would be around £194,000 for Chigwada from the next club that signs him - as long as they are a professional side.

So, while losing out on Chigwada is not ideal, the Toffees will not be entirely losing him for nothing.

However, for the future, they will have to be wary of losing out on similar talents in the same way.