OPINION
Despite having spent the last two summers splashing cash left, right and centre on a host of new faces to try and bolster their side and push themselves up the table, Everton are a club with a proud tradition of developing homegrown talent.
With the likes of Tom Davies, Mason Holgate and Jonjoe Kenny all on the fringes of the first team, and all with senior action under their belt this season, the next generation of Toffees are knocking at the door, looking to force their way into the plans of Marco Silva.
Another who may be mentioned in the same breath as the aforementioned trio, but in reality is more on the periphery of the first team, is 20-year-old attacking midfielder Kieran Dowell, who took his total number of appearances for Everton up to four in the League Cup outing against Rotherham.
However, with just two unused substitute appearances from the other four games, his chances of seeing any sort of action any time soon diminish week on week, with the Liverpool Echo claiming that he is set to drop to third choice behind Gylfi Sigurdsson and Bernard when they are all fully fit.
Shipped out on loan to Nottingham Forest last season, it makes absolutely no sense to have kept him on at Goodison Park instead of sending him on another temporary move over the summer, and it is a blunder from the Toffees which could well cost him his career at the club.
While Everton might have a reputation of giving young talent the chance to shine, is Dowell really going to pick up enough minutes to develop at a quick enough rate for the club’s liking, and is under-23 football going to give him the experience of competitive football he needs at this fledgling stage of his career?
This is a time when he needs to be building experience and confidence of playing at a level which pushes and tests him, and considering he is pushing his way into Silva’s plans, reserve matches are not going to have the desired effect.
A loan would have been the best move for the youngster and failing to send him out puts his future on the line. Silva must address the issue by finding the right loan for him when January comes around, giving him three months to fix the problem.