Who is Tyler Onyango: the Everton midfielder Rafa Benitez could turn to at Wolves profiled

Rafa Benitez is looking for solutions after Everton's ignominious 5-2 loss to Watford on Saturday.

The Toffees boss will be holding plenty of inquests into why his side crumbled so meekly as they are put through their paces at Finch Farm this week.

Changes will surely be made when Everton are next in action at Wolves on Monday 1 November.

Benitez certainly missed the energy and physicality of Abdoulaye Doucoure in central midfield.

The Frenchman remains sidelined with a foot injury until after the international break and Everton will have to cope without him until then.

Despite Tom Davies opening the scoring against Watford, he couldn't offer the same presence as Doucoure in the engine room.

According to The Athletic, Benitez is ‘increasingly minded’ about bringing youngster Tyler Onyango into his set-up to remedy the problem while Doucoure is sidelined.

Who is Tyler Onyango?

Onyango is an 18-year-old midfielder at Goodison Park.

Where does he play?

Onyango is a centre-midfielder. He's described as skilful and athletic who reads the game well and boasts impressive stamina, according to the club's website.

He's a towering figure at 6ft 5inch.

What's his background?

Onyango was born in Luton but joined Everton's academy at the age of eight.

He was promoted into the under-23s squad when he was still a first-year scholar in the 2019-20 season.

Onyango signed his first professional deal at Goodison in July 2020, committing his future until the summer of 2023.

At the end of last season, he won the Keith Tamlin Award.

It’s handed to a player who consistently attains high standards of ‘excellence, attitude and application’ – at the club’s annual academy awards.

Has he made his first-team debut?

Yes. Onyango came on as a late substitute in a 3-0 FA Cup victory over Rotherham last season.

What are his international credentials?

Onyango has been capped five times by England under-17s.

He’s also eligible to represent Kenya where his father is from.

How much is he valued at?

Transfermrkt claims that Onyango is worth £180,000 at the current moment.

How has he fared this season?

Onyango has been on the comeback trail from injury for the majority of the campaign so far.

He suffered an ankle fracture and ligament injury during a 1-0 FA Youth Cup victory over Manchester City in April.

Since his return to fitness, Onyango has made two appearances for the under-23s.

He featured for 82 minutes in a 4-2 defeat of Leeds earlier this month before clocking up similar time on the pitch in a 4-0 loss against Arsenal last Friday.

Onyango has also been regularly training with the first team of late and caught Benitez’s eye.

What's been said

After the victory over Leeds, Everton's director of academy David Unsworth was delighted with Onyango's performance.

He told the club's website: “He was great, he played really well.

"He’s been training for a couple of weeks and he got some minutes in a bounce game during the international break.

“Anything past 60 minutes tonight was a bonus so to get 80 minutes from him is terrific and I’m so glad to see him back.

"The physios have had nothing but praise for him for his work ethic and he’s a great guy."

Is there a chance he will play against Wolves?

It will be telling if Onyango is involved in the under-23s' Premier League 2 clash against Chelsea on Saturday.

If omitted, there's every chance the teenager will be involved at Molineux.

Then it comes down to whether Benitez believes Onyango is ready for Premier League action.

Despite a poor performance against Watford, Allan is likely to retain his starting spot as he's had a decent season so far.

Benitez then has to decide whteher to do with a more experienced option with Andre Gomes, Davies and Jean-Philippe Gbamin at his disposal or take a gamble.

We wait and see if the Spaniard will thrust Onyango into his side.