The first full week of Everton pre-season is drawing to a close with David Moyes casting his eye over first team and academy players
SCOTLAND - JULY 09: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Jarrad Branthwaite (L) and Beto during the Everton Training Session on JULY 09, 2025 in Scotland. (Photo by Emma Simpson/Everton FC)
Jarrad Branthwaite and Beto during an Everton training session in Scotland
Everton’s pre-season is gaining momentum in Scotland. David Moyes has been putting the squad through its paces under the sunshine on the first full week since most of the players returned from their summer break.
Those involved in international duty this summer, including new signing Thierno Barry, are yet to meet up with the group.
That has provided an invaluable chance for a host of the club’s academy players to get a taste of working with the first team. Their efforts, as well as the work of some of their older team-mates, have stood out so far.
‘Great turn, Beto’
Beto emerged as a productive Premier League goalscorer when injuries led to him receiving patience in the first team last season. His run of goals in late winter and early spring were pivotal in the run that pulled Everton clear of the relegation fight amid the upturn in form that followed the return of Moyes.
There were frustrating moments, too, but the Guinea-Bissau international impressed his manager with his work-rate and his ability to find goalscoring opportunities amid an attack that often found it tough to create chances.
With Dominic Calvert-Lewin having left and his competition coming from 22-year-old Barry and 21-year-old Youssef Chermiti, both of whom will require patience as they look to grow into Premier League forwards, the crown is currently Beto's.
Clips from training showcased the striker earning plaudits from the Blues staff, including Moyes, who could be heard shouting ‘well done Beto’ as he twisted past Vitalii Mykolenko in a one v one drill.
Praise for Nathan Patterson
Nathan Patterson is one of a handful of players who, even in a small squad, face a summer in which they have work to do to convince the Everton hierarchy to give them a serious role in the upcoming season.
The right-back has been plagued by injury since joining from Rangers in 2022 and had to watch from the sidelines as the likes of Jake O’Brien and Ashley Young shared duties during much of the second half of the campaign.
The Blues are actively seeking a right-back and missed out on Fulham defender Kenny Tete. But the longer the club goes without bringing in a new option, the more time Patterson, still only 23, has to convince his superiors he deserves a chance. Unlike last summer, Patterson is fit for pre-season and, like Beto, could be heard receiving praise for his work in the one v one drills as he fought off the advances of Isaac Heath.
Young winger hoping to impress
Heath enjoyed a good season in the under-21s last year, building on his work in the previous campaign to become a key figure for Paul Tait. He formed a good partnership down the right with Roman Dixon and went on to win the young player of the year accolade.
It has been some start to the summer for Heath, who is training with the first team having just committed his future to the club. The 20-year-old signed a two-year deal following a year in which he was named in four Premier League matchday squads.
On his new contract, he said: “I’m delighted to extend my stay at Everton, and hopefully I can push on from here. I feel like last season was really good for the squad, and for myself, as well. I got a lot of minutes and I thought as a team we played really well throughout the season. Now we’re just looking to push on again this year and see where things go.
“The aim now is to try to impress the first-team staff and hopefully get into that squad, but if not then maybe we’ll look at a loan deal elsewhere.”
With Everton seeking right-wingers in the transfer window - a clear requirement for the first-team squad - Heath could make claim to being the most senior specialist in that position at the club.
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Teenage goalkeeper steps up in training
Another youngster earning valuable experience in a position of need for Moyes is the goalkeeper Douglass Lukjanciks. At just 17, he is one of the youngest to have joined the camp (along with fellow U18s starlet Braiden Graham) but he is being given plenty of work to do with Jordan Pickford not having joined up with the group and duties being split with Harry Tyrer and George Pickford.
Everton’s academy profile on social media shared footage of the England youth international making a string of good saves as he took advantage of the chance to train with a group that includes players almost twice his age.
Injured players continue to build back strength
Tim Iroegbunam, Seamus Coleman, Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski ended last season injured. Of that quartet Iroegbunam and Branthwaite - fresh from having signed his new five-year deal with the club - have both been pictured taking part in combative practice drills, suggesting they have recovered.
Tarkowski, who had the most serious injury and one that was feared could disrupt his pre-season, has been shown taking part in running drills while Coleman was pictured leading the players on a beach jog.
Braiden Graham has been scoring for fun in the U18s after his summer arrival from Linfield
HALEWOOD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: Braiden Graham of Everton celebrates scoring his teams second goal during the U18 Premier League match between Everton U18 and Newcastle United U18 at Finch Farm on October 19, 2024 in Halewood, England. (Photo by Emma Simpson/Everton FC)
Braiden Graham of Everton celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the U18 Premier League match against Newcastle United at Finch Farm
(Image: Emma Simpson/Everton FC)
Talented forward Braiden Graham has signed his first professional contract with Everton. The deal marks the latest stage of the impressive progress of the teenager, who made his senior debut for former club Linfield at just 15.
His development there captured the attention of the Blues and led to a pursuit that ended in success as he joined the club as a scholar.
The work to convince him to move to Merseyside saw Graham take his place among the tens of thousands in the stands at Goodison Park when Abdoulaye Doucoure’s stunning goal sealed Everton's survival against Bournemouth on the final day of the 2022/23 season.
He then made the move from Northern Ireland to Merseyside 12 months later and has started life at Finch Farm in stunning fashion. Graham has scored eight goals across seven games as a 16-year-old in Leighton Baines’ Under-18s.
Graham, who turned 17 this week, has now put pen to paper on his first professional deal with the Blues - a three-year contract that will run until 2027. Upon committing his future to the Blues, he said: "It’s unreal. It’s something I’ve always worked for since being a kid. All those years – the hard work and sacrifices – it’s been rewarded.
“I knew before I came to Everton that I’d have to hit the ground running because the best players will do that. Since I arrived, I’ve wanted to play well, score goals and help the team – and I think I’ve been doing that. All the boys have helped me to settle in really well. They were very welcoming and they’re good lads, so I think I’ve settled in very quickly.
“It’s such a big family club and everyone here made me feel very welcome. I just see a good pathway at this club for me to come through.”
His start to life at Everton follows the club’s keen pursuit of him. Of the impression the Blues made on him, Graham told the Belfast Telegraph in the summer: “The whole feeling around the club made me think it was perfect for me. I felt there was a good pathway at Everton for me. It just felt right. I was at Goodison Park on the final day of that season and Everton beat Bournemouth 1-0 to stay up. Watching that game, I was like, ‘I want to play here’.”
That pursuit is paying dividends in Baines' U18s but it did not come easy, with Everton fighting off interest from elsewhere to convince Graham to move to Merseyside. Following his electric start, director of football Kevin Thelwell said: “We were delighted to bring Braiden to Everton in the summer, amid a lot of competition from other clubs for his signature, and it’s a move that has benefitted both him and the club.
“He’s been excellent so far this season. His goal record is very impressive, and he’s shown a great attitude for learning. Braiden’s game has developed working with our talented coaches, and he can see a clear pathway that offers him a great chance to progress at Everton.”
Graham is one of a cohort of forwards signed by the academy over the summer to have started the new campaign well. His team-mate Justin Clarke, signed from AFC Wimbledon in September, has six goals in four games.
Baines’ side includes starlets who are part of their respective national setups - Graham with Northern Ireland and others such as England youth goalkeeper Douglass Lukjanciks and Wales forward George Morgan.