In January 2023, when Anthony Gordon forced his way out and signed for Newcastle United in a £45m deal, Everton supporters were livid.
The Toffees were in the throes of a relegation battle, after all, and Gordon was one of their own, handed his big break after graduating from the academy and featuring 65 times in the Premier League for the club before buying a one-way ticket to Tyneside.
It was a blow, but Everton staved off relegation, and then, in 2024, welcomed Iliman Ndiaye to the fold from Marseille in a £15m deal, and that has certainly proved to add flair and potency to the flanks.
No player scored more goals than the Senegalese winger last season, whose combination of pace and skills quickly established him as a fan favourite. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp marvelled that he brought a “dynamite” style to Goodison Park, while analyst Ben Mattinson noted that he “could play for any Premier League side”.
Iliman Ndiaye
37
11
Beto
34
10
Dwight McNeil
24
5
Abdoulaye Doucoure
31
4
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
26
3
Michael Keane
31
3
Any frustration around Gordon has long since passed, but this football club have a deep connection with their academy ranks, and might find a new homegrown hero, having welcomed a few to the senior stage over the years.
Everton's best academy graduates
Where else to start but with Wayne Rooney? One of the Premier League’s all-time greats, Rooney was handed his professional debut by Moyes during the manager’s iconic first tenure on Merseyside, starting with a bang and then signing for Manchester United for £30m when he was still only 18.
How the Toffees would like their next version of the Three Lions legend to join their ranks from Finch Farm.
There have been more, Leon Osman being a case in point. The 44-year-old was more of an unsung hero, a versatile midfielder, but he racked up 433 appearances for Everton and served dutifully for Moyes during his first term in office.
Ross Barkley was slated as Rooney’s natural successor, so impressive was his start to life at Goodison Park. Barkley came and went, and then Gordon did too, but Everton still seek their next big star from the youth ranks.
And though such talents are few and far between, Moyes might have a versatile attacking talent at his disposal who might even cause Jack Grealish to cast a glance over his shoulder.
Braiden Graham could be a star for Moyes
Grealish has made quite the start to his new career on Merseyside, having joined on loan from Manchester City this summer after falling from grace at the Etihad.
Four assists from as many matches and the Premier League Player of the Month award to boot emphasise just how impressive a start to this new chapter it has been for Grealish, so much so that he has moved Ndiaye out onto the right flank, a role he performed just once last season, and three times already in 2025/26.
It would take a special talent indeed to displace the silky Three Lions star, but Everton might just have such a player rising to the fore in 17-year-old Braiden Graham, who completed a move from Linfield in Ireland to Everton in July 2024, when he was only 16.
It would take only a couple of months for Graham to earn his first professional contract, proving to Everton his capacity to score and to assist across a number of attacking berths after ex-Linfield boss David Healy hailed his “incredible” potential.
Attacking midfield
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6 (1)
Centre-forward
5
2 (2)
Left winger
4
3 (1)
Right winger
2
1 (0)
Centre-midfield
2
0 (0)
He scored eight goals across only 12 matches in the U18 Premier League last season, assisting two goals too, thus earning a promotion to the Premier League 2, nestled right underneath the big time.
At 17, he wouldn’t have been expected to offer more than support as he cut his teeth among older hopefuls, but eight games later, the Irish talent had five goals and an assist to his name. All told, 13 goals in all competitions last year saw him rise above Ndiaye as Everton’s top goalscorer, albeit at a lower level.
The fanfare is real, and Moyes will no doubt be interested in handing him a senior shot this season, perhaps in a domestic cup against lesser opposition, should the opportunity arise.
The right-footed teenager is still working out his best position, but he seems at his most fluent and dangerous when coming off the left flank and into the danger area, fearless on the ball and endowed with natural strength and balance.
His physical development continues to be the biggest hurdle yet to be leapt over, but that’s only natural given his age. Praised as “a good finisher” by Everton U21 boss Paul Tait, that advantage in goalscoring could see him offer something excitingly different to Grealish, who has never really been clinical in front of goal.
Grealish appears to be the cream of the crop right now, but Everton have got a whole load of creative forces who weren’t there af few years back.
What still appears lacking is a range of goalscoring threats. Up top, Beto currently lacks the clinical edge that comes to him in bursts, and Thierno Barry is unrefined within the English game.
Graham is a player who has the lot: goals, assists, pace, power, smarts. Whether he can transfer his youthful flair to the senior stage remains to be seen, but there’s little question that if he keeps going from strength to strength, he will come knocking on the 29-year-old Grealish’s door, with sights set on claiming that left-sided spot and adding a new dimension to Everton’s frontline.