Braiden Graham is the talk of Everton right now.
The Northern Ireland U19 international scored an incredible goal to help Everton defeat Ipswich in the FA Youth Cup on Thursday night, his 16th strike of the season in just 23 appearances.
It has put the spotlight on Braiden Graham – but there is another talent worth discussing at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Demi Akarakiri.
Does David Moyes need to put more trust in Everton’s academy players? 😤
Surely some of these players can do better than Beto and Dwight McNeil! 😡
Everton striker Braiden Graham. Everton manager David Moyes.
Credit: Getty Images/Andrew Kearns – CameraSport/Visionhaus.
Everton have a truly exciting talent in Demi Akarakiri
The 17-year-old moved to Everton in 2024 after being released by Arsenal, where he spent ten years.
Akarakiri is now starting to show exactly why he survived for so long in Hale End, as the Toffees begin to benefit from his talent.
It was the attacking midfielder who took responsibility in the 96th minute against Ipswich, with seconds to go until the Tractor Boys were set to secure a 2-1 win.
The teenager bravely took the ball from the impressive Shea Pita deep in his own half under pressure as Everton had time for one last attack, superbly turning his man before spreading the ball wide.
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Just seconds later, Graham equalised, sending Akarakiri and his teammates wild.
Why Demi Akarakiri deserves just as much hype as Braiden Graham, if not more
While Graham is the one bagging goals, anybody who watched the win over Ipswich would have noticed the 18-year-old struggling physically as the Tractor Boys often outmuscled him.
It suggests the Irishman would be bullied in the Premier League if David Moyes threw him in at the deep end now, but Akarakiri – who was actually the first to kick a ball at the Hill Dickinson Stadium – looks like he could handle that aspect of senior football much better.
The former Arsenal man is a towering midfield presence who eats up the ground with ease. In the footage of Graham’s goal, he can be seen releasing the ball at the base of midfield, but is then inside the box just eight seconds later having barely appeared to break into anything more than a jog.
The way Akarakiri shrugged off his man to start the attack speaks volumes about his upper body strength too, and all of this came in the final seconds of a match he started, proving his stamina levels are excellent as well.
Everton’s official website actually states that Akarakiri feels “running with the ball” is “his best attribute” in football – and it shows.
Of course, you need to be technically strong in possession to succeed in the Premier League, but if you cannot hold your own physically, there is little chance of even getting on the ball in the first place.
Braiden Graham is doing things Beto and Thierno Barry could only dream of… 😳
So, Akarakiri is much closer than Graham to making his senior debut for Everton as a result of this one trait, in our view at least.
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