Paul Tait has revealed talks are underway behind-the-scenes as more members of his Everton Under-21 squad prepare to leave the club on loan.
Tom Cannon became the first member of Tait’s side to leave the club on loan this month, when he signed for Preston North End until the end of the season on Tuesday. The forward could make his North End debut against Norwich City this weekend.
Tait has long been open about the need for many of his squad to depart this month in order to gain more first-team experience. Kyle John is one name who the Blues boss expected to depart in order to further his development.
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The Blues allowed Lewis Warrington, Lewis Gibson, Nathan Broadhead, Lewis Dobbin, Ellis Simms, Ryan Astley and Harry Tyrer to all depart on loan during the summer in order to gain more first-team experience.
“We’ve had discussions around loans within the club and we’ll see what happens this month. There definitely will be some going out - they need to,” Tait said.
“They showed in the Papa Johns Trophy that a lot of them are ready for men’s football and that’s the next part of their development.
“We’ll have to wait and see what materialises as you can never be 100-per-cent sure in the transfer window. In the meantime, we’ll continue to work and try to improve each player.”
After a break over Christmas, Everton Under-21s returned to action against West Ham United on Friday night. And although Cannon once again struck for the young Blues, it wasn't enough to prevent a 2-1 Premier League 2 loss.
“I thought we started poorly in terms of our intensity and physicality, and we got caught out a little bit by West Ham’s physicality,” Tait told evertonfc.com post-match.
“We didn't play well enough at all in the first half, and they rightly scored. Second half I thought we got a lot more control of the game, but we were still lacking in transition, especially defensive transition, and that's where the second goal comes from.
“And then after that, it was all us. I thought the subs did well when they came on, they made a difference. I thought we were a much better team setting off and probably could have nicked a draw.
“Overall, I felt we were off a little bit, but everyone will be better for getting those minutes in. I thought bits of the performance was good, but that cutting edge wasn’t quite there.
“However, I’m confident that I'll return as we work with the players over the next few weeks.”
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