Six-goal teenager called up to Everton training during international break

Sean Dyche has continued to put Everton through their paces during the international break.

While the likes of Jordan Pickford, Amadou Onana, Alex Iwobi and Idrissa Gana Gueye have been away with their respective nations, a significant portion of the Toffees’ squad has remained on Merseyside.

And after being handed some time off, Everton recently posted footage of Dyche’s troops undergoing a session at Finch Farm.

Involved were those expected including James Tarkowski, Demarai Gray, Dwight McNeil and Michael Keane. And with gaps to fill, it was a chance for some of the youngsters at the Blues to try to catch the eye of Dyche.

Stanley Mills and Reece Welch have both trained regularly with the first team throughout the season and are both well regarded in the under-21s. Mills has plundered nine goals in 16 appearances for Paul Tait’s side so far.

But another potent forward also spotted was Francis Okoronkwo. Signed from Sunderland in September 2021 for a reported fee of £1 million, he’s still to make a first-team appearance.

However, Okoronkwo has bagged six goals and recorded five assists in 30 appearances at age-group level throughout the campaign. He is still of under-18 age group but has racked up 25 appearances for the under-21s so far.

Okoronkwo is under contract at Goodison Park until June 2024. Speaking to the club’s website in January, he said: “My ambition now is to be that focal point for the under-21s, be the No.9 that all the players can rely on.

“I want to play more minutes, score more, keep adding assists and hopefully towards the end of the season, have a few sessions with the first team to get a taste for what that’s like in the coming years.

“You can see there’s a pathway to the senior squad. If you look at the lads who’ve been in and around it this season, they have all been really consistent and worked hard to do all they can to be professional footballers and play in the First Team.

“To me, that shows when you put that work in, you will get your rewards, you just need to stay consistent with it and keep chipping away.”