Everton may need to turn to the academy after a shambolic transfer deadline day left David Moyes with just one striker - and Braiden Graham certainly took his chance in the 2-1 Premier League International Cup loss to AC Milan at Goodison Park
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - JULY 28: Braiden Graham of Everton during the pre-season friendly match between Stoke City and Everton at Bet365 Stadium on July 28, 2026 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Braiden Graham scored a fine free-kick as Everton lost 2-1 to AC Milan at Goodison Park in the Premier League International Cup
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With Everton’s shambolic transfer window closing and the club’s recruitment team leaving manager David Moyes with just 18 outfield players in his senior squad, all eyes were on the Under-21s at Goodison Park on Tuesday evening to see if any of the young Blues showed any promise that they might be able to step up to the Premier League.
The departure of last season’s top scorer Beto – who struck double figures for the Blues in both of his last two campaigns – coupled with the farcical failure to get a move for Monaco’s Folarin Balogun over the line, left Everton with just one recognised striker in the shape of Thierno Barry. The USA international’s medical is understood to have identified a significant issue, prompting the two clubs to restructure the deal, but despite all parties signing a deal sheet, the player subsequently made it clear he no longer wanted to join.
With the deadline having passed, there was no intervention from President Donald Trump this time, to ask for another U-Turn to allow Balogun play after his World Cup controversy and instead, on a day which saw their most creative talent Iliman Ndiaye also depart, the Blues were left with a squad looking weaker than when the window opened – certainly when it came to numbers but also arguably in terms of quality too.
Someone who would love to be part of Everton’s first team side though is Northern Ireland prospect Braiden Graham who has been lighting up their academy teams for the past couple of years. As his manager at previous club Linfield David Healy, who also happens to be Northern Ireland’s all-time leading scorer, remarked of Graham: “He’s goals, goals, goals, he prowls in and around he’s a deadly finisher.”
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Indeed, after hitting the net 21 times last season, the 18-year-old helped himself to his third strike of this fledgling campaign. This correspondent has witnessed them all in the flesh after Graham teed up Joel Catesby - who has subsequently joined Accrington Stanley on loan – in the EFL Trophy match at Stockport County before bagging a brace himself.
That briefly inspired a dramatic comeback as the young Blues recovered from a 3-0 half-time deficit to draw level 3-3 but then the hosts, who had made a full 11 changes from their side that won 3-1 at Plymouth Argyle three days earlier, quickly took command once more to triumph 6-3.
There weren’t the same kind of thrills at spills at Goodison Park for a Premier League International Cup group game against former European powerhouses AC Milan, but on another night that Everton’s youngsters were second best – keeper George Pickford made a string of smart saves to keep them in the contest – Graham was once more their brightest spark.
He’d already hit the post and rattled the crossbar with efforts either side of the break as Dave Hughes’ side fell behind to Federico Colombo’s crashing effort on 26 minutes but the hosts’ flame-haired pocket rocket restored parity on 56 minutes in spectacular fashion.
With first-team coach Leighton Baines and technical director Nick Cox both watching on in the Main Stand alongside the likes of former Blues stars Alan Stubbs and Tony Hibbert, Graham put his side level with a perfectly placed curling free-kick. Milan’s dominance was such that Lorenzo Ossola put them back in front on 77 minutes when he was given the freedom of the Gwladys Street End to pick his spot, but Graham had put down another marker.
Although Everton usually deploy him on the flanks – he was back in his usual position on the left here having been on the right at Edgeley Park – he did start out as a central striker. Unlike the Barry/Beto job share last season, he would potentially offer Moyes a different kind of option rather than a like-for-like replacement.
It would no doubt be a significant step up, but Graham possesses that natural instinct in front of goal and he would certainly represent a more progressive step than the likes of 39-year-old free agent Jamie Vardy who has been mooted as a potential stop-gap after the Blues were left striker light.
Everton: George Pickford; George Finney; Ezra Carrington (Josh van Schoor 65); Luis Gardner; Aled Thomas; Harvey Foster; Amari Moses (Melvin Matos 46); Jack Patterson (Rodney Adula 84); Ceiran Loney (Omari Benjamin 84); Harry Brookes (Rocco Lambert 65); Braiden Graham.