Braiden Graham scored a superb free-kick as Everton Under-21s fell to a 2-1 defeat against AC Milan at Goodison Park in the Premier League International Cup on Tuesday evening. The 18-year-old Northern Ireland prospect was the standout performer for the young Blues, with first-team coach Leighton Baines and technical director Nick Cox among those watching from the Main Stand.
Striker crisis prompts academy focus
Everton's shambolic transfer deadline day left manager David Moyes with just one recognised striker in Thierno Barry, after the departure of last season's top scorer Beto and the collapse of a move for Monaco's Folarin Balogun. 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, and on a day which saw 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.
Graham's goalscoring form continues
Graham has been lighting up Everton's 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.”
After hitting the net 21 times last season, the 18-year-old helped himself to his third strike of this fledgling campaign. He had 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.
Free-kick puts down marker
With Baines and Cox alongside 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.
