Everton have confirmed in their 2019/20 retained list that Manasse Mampala has been released. The 19-year-old failed to make a first-team appearance and had come to the end of his contract this summer, so a move away from Goodison Park was expected.
Mampala joined Everton at U16 level and made 35 appearances for the U18s, scoring 14 goals and making seven assists. He progressed through the youth ranks to the fringes of the first-team and went on to make 22 appearances for the U23s, scoring two goals and making three assists.
The goals dried up as he made the step-up from youth football, so Mampala was never going to get the attention of Carlo Ancelotti. Let alone his poor form in the reserves, Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Moise Kean have stood in Mampala’s way of featuring at senior level, so he’s better off elsewhere.
Everton are on the hunt for another striker this summer too – Patrik Schick, Hee-chan Hwang, Hirving Lozano, Martin Braithwaite, Odsonne Edouard, Andrea Belotti, Sardar Azmoun and Victor Osimhen – so the 19-year-old would have found himself further down the pecking order if retained.
Mampala was unable to build on his early promise at Goodison Park and now he’ll likely have to develop lower down the pyramid.