Francis Okoronkwo has detailed how he spent the first half of this season learning from Tom Cannon and is hoping to earn a call-up to first-team training in the coming months.
Cannon impressed in his first season as a fully-fledged under-23 player in 2021/22, scoring eight goals in 23 appearances to finish as the team's leading marksman.
The Republic of Ireland youth international, after impressing for Paul Tait’s under-21 side, was then handed his senior debut during the Carabao Cup defeat to Bournemouth back in November when he replaced Neal Maupay with nine minutes remaining.
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The Everton youngster then made his Premier League debut just five days later against the same opposition in the same stadium, though once again it came on a difficult day for the Blues as they were beaten 3-0 by the Cherries.
The forward, who was part of the travelling squad that toured Australia, bagged his first senior goal against Western Sydney Wanderers, with the strike coming just days after he came off the bench against Celtic.
However, it was announced last Tuesday that Cannon, who came off the bench against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day, would be spending the rest of the season on loan at Preston North End in the Championship.
Stanley Mills, Isaac Price, Reece Welch, Joe Anderson, Seb Quirk and Cannon have all been in and around first-team training in recent months, and Okoronkwo, who has scored six times so far this season, is hoping not only to step up in Cannon’s absence, but also earn himself a spot in first-team training in the coming months.
“For the first six months of the season, it was all about learning and looking at what Tom does, because he’s a fantastic striker,” he told evertonfc.com.
“We knew he was close to being ready to play men’s football, so for me, it was learning about what he does well and then trying to add that to my game.
“The loan move is a fantastic move for him because it’s what he needs and I think it also gives me that opportunity to have more starts, more game time and to improve myself. My ambition now is to be that focal point for the Under-21s, to be the No.9 that all the players can rely on.
“I want to play more minutes, score more, keep adding assists and hopefully towards the end of the season, have a few sessions with the First Team to get a taste for what that’s like in the coming years.
“You can see there’s a pathway to the senior squad. If you look at the lads who’ve been in and around it this season, they have all been really consistent and worked hard to do all they can to be professional footballers and play in the first team.
“To me, that shows when you put that work in, you will get your rewards, you just need to stay consistent with it and keep chipping away.”
Everton’s under-21 side have enjoyed a solid campaign so far, with Tait’s men currently sitting seventh in the Premier League 2 table. The young Blues have also enjoyed Premier League International Cup wins over Braga, Hertha BSC and Paris Saint-Germain.
While in the Papa Johns Trophy, they were beaten in the last-16 by Lincoln City after advancing out of their group and past Mansfield Town in the last-32 at Goodison Park. And Okoronkwo believes his boss deserves a lot of credit for his side’s success.
He said: “Every day, he’s always looking for ways to improve us as individuals and the team in general. As you can see, the form this season compared to last season, we’re flying and doing well as a group.”
Okoronkwo then continued on his relationship with his boss, saying: “I speak to Taity frequently, he’s a very good man manager.
“He told me during that spell to stay persistent and confident. He said to me that he believed I have the talent, so I just needed to keep a level head, keep going and I will see that light at the end of the tunnel.”
