Everton’s search for goals at the top of the field is not set to stop with academy sensation Ellis Simms, as the Liverpool Echo understand the prolific 18-year-old faces another year in the Under 23s with David Unsworth’s title-winning side.
Simms has just drawn to a close a stunning personal campaign in which he scored 46 goals across all competitions, including 32 in just 21 Under 18 Premier League games.
The 6ft star even made what could be considered his senior debut, when he came off the bench in the EFL Trophy against Oldham Athletic in October. Although his late cameo came at a time the young Blues had their backs to the wall, as the Boundary Park natives successfully overturned an early two-goal deficit to take the win.
Oldham-born Simms will surely be pushing for a greater role in the EFL Trophy next term, and look to soon be knocking on the door of Marco Silva’s office asking for time with the first-team in training, if not the EFL Cup.
David Kershaw, the scout who discovered Simms for Blackburn Rovers at the age of six, even feels an England call-up should be in the teenager’s future now that he is in the academy that developed Wayne Rooney and Ross Barkley.
“Let’s hope Ellis is the next one,” he told the Echo. “He’s the fastest thing I’ve ever seen on a football pitch. His finishing is good and he’s good with both feet, and has a sweet left foot as well as a decent right foot.
“I’ll see Ellis scoring three or four on the weekend, so I’ll ring his dad and say, ‘Ellis is doing well, isn’t he?’ But he did score four against Blackburn last season, which I wasn’t too happy about.
“He’s still really shy now. He’s really quiet and softly spoken, and his family are all really nice. He’s a proper grounded lad.”