Stanley Mills, Tom Cannon and Reece Welch could be part of the matchday squad for Everton's Carabao Cup tie with Bournemouth as Frank Lampard looks to reward their progress.
The Blues boss wants to take the competition seriously but will make changes on Tuesday night, his decisions set to be impacted once he learns the extent of injuries suffered by Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Idrissa Gueye and Amadou Onana in and around the defeat to Leicester City. Yerry Mina is a senior figure who could earn his first minutes since his comeback from a knee injury.
But Lampard will consider turning to youth as well and said he hopes to include a number of Under-21s starlets on his bench. They include the in-form Stanley Mills, whose recent displays have been tracked by the first team coaching staff.
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Speaking ahead of the first of two trips to Bournemouth this week, Lampard explained: "My intention is to get some young lads on the bench for the game to have the feeling of being part of it, and to see if we can get them on the pitch, so I would like to think we will have two, three, four on the bench, but I can't guarantee that [until he knows the extent of availability within his squad]."
Asked whether he was following the development of Mills, who was part of the first-team squad's pre-season tour of the US and has nine goals for the U21s this season, he added: "For sure, Stanley is doing really well and scoring regularly, playing well and developing really well so it is nice to give players like that that are doing well the opportunity when they come around. [Tom] Cannon is another one who is doing well so there's two or three, we know them, Reece Welch is there as well so we will see how it works out." Welch made his first senior start for the Blues in the last round of the Carabao Cup, the 1-0 win at Fleetwood Town. Mills made his debut game in that match.
Lampard is a fan of Mills but is also wary of putting too much pressure on the 19-year-old amid calls for some sections to include him in the first-team squad in the Premier League. He said: "He is a very strong runner, he has an eye for goal, he is a good player, so yes he can be an option [going forward] but he is still very young. We all know how hard it is at a young age to break through and have an immediate impact regularly so it will maybe be phased in for him... if he keeps progressing in the right way then I will see him as that [a potential forward option] even more."
Lampard has ensured academy products get opportunities to train with the first team at Finch Farm and Paul Tait's players are often integrated into drills, including 10v10 matches, so the first-team players and coaches have experience of working with some of the club's brightest starlets. Tait works closely with assistant manager Joe Edwards, with whom he has a good relationship with. One of the big developments of the academy setup since the appointment of Kevin Thelwell as the director of football has been work to ensure the same style of play is replicated across developmental groups, in theory making it more straightforward for players to step up into more senior sides.
Lampard said this does help when promoting players but stressed success was still primarily down to the individual. He said: "The biggest thing will always be the individual. The individual and how good they are and what level of player or attitude they have. Stan is a good point because he has a great approach and attitude. It probably comes from the footballing background of his dad, who I know well, and athletes in their family. He is a great athlete as well as a good player... We never speak to Taity about how to play as such but it is ideal that you have a good communication and are playing with the same ethics and same ideas in players. When I am watching them play you see a lot of good things so that definitely helps."
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