Everton fans and players are growing excited over the academy prospect, Braiden Graham, with Harrison Armstrong even drawing comparisons to Ronaldo Nazario.
It was another evening of stealing the headlines for Graham on Thursday night at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the FA Youth Cup.
Keith Southern’s men have now secured themselves a quarter-final draw against Manchester City U18s, with Graham keeping their dream alive.
Graham has really impressed Everton’s coaches having even trained with the senior side back at Finch Farm.
However, he demonstrated his ruthless finishing against Ipswich Town at the Hill Dickinson Stadium to single-handedly send the game to extra time.
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.
With excitement growing around the club over the 18-year-old’s potential, Armstrong has even shared his own thoughts on just how good Graham has become.
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Harrison Armstrong compares Everton youngster Braiden Graham to Ronaldo Nazario
Graham had a quiet evening against Ipswich until he turned it on in the dying minutes of added time.
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Into extra time and the 18-year-old really began to shine as he then danced around the Ipswich defence to lay off Ray Robert for the third Everton goal of the night.
Graham has shared some photos from the evening on Instagram, with Armstrong taking no time to respond to the youngster’s post.
Which player do you think could be next to shine in Everton’s first team? 🤩
There's some really exciting youngsters currently at Finch Farm 🔥
Everton's Braiden Graham inspecting the pitch before the match during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Everton. Everton midfielder Malik Olayiwola. Justin Clarke of Everton looks on during the pre-season friendly match between Accrington Stanley and Everton.
Credit: Getty Images/Andrew Kearns – CameraSport/Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto/Matt McNulty.
In response to his performance, Armstrong commented: “Ginger R9 🔥”.
Although realistic comparisons are still very premature, there is certainly a style of play comparison to be made between the two.
Graham showed on Thursday evening that he is a forward who wants to get on the ball and get at the opposition defence.
The 18-year-old played in a free role for most of the game, where he was trying to find pockets of space to get on the ball and influence the game.
David Moyes wanted more from Graham earlier in the season and the forward is certainly doing all he can to prove himself to the 62-year-old.
As exciting as Graham has been, it cannot be stressed enough that the forward needs to bulk up a bit before he is capable of playing for Everton’s first team.
Moyes has already urged Graham to improve physically, but the 18-year-old may need the Armstrong treatment to get himself ready for senior football.
Everton sent Armstrong out on two loans to EFL clubs over the last year and he has now returned as a midfielder actually providing an impact on Everton’s first team.
Although Graham may hold the talent of someone who could improve Everton, there will be worries about how he would cope physically.
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