Everton’s worst nightmares are beginning to be realised, with the club flirting with the relegation zone and the prospect of losing both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison a plausible one.
Should the club fail to secure their Premier League status, it seems eminently possible that Frank Lampard will be sacked, and the biggest rebuild of their modern day history would then need to commence.
However, due to Financial Fair Play issues, their next manager – or Lampard if he keeps them in the top flight – may be forced into moulding a number of youth academy stars as a key part of the rebuild, including striker Lewis Dobbin, who has been in good form for the under-23 team. If the club lose the aforementioned star duo, along with Salomon Rondon and Cenk Tosun, the 19-year-old could find himself being the most senior striker at the club, at least temporarily.
However, if Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri made different decisions back in 2020, it would likely have been Rangers youngster Tony Weston leading the line in the Championship next season, should that be where the Toffees are headed.
Everton reportedly wanted the Liverpool-born striker while he was still just a 16-year-old at Blackpool, and valued at around £250k by the Seasiders, before making the move north of the border.
Now aged 18, he has scored four goals in the UEFA Youth League this season, also netting an impressive 21 goals in the Lowland League for the Glasgow giants’ development team.
Rangers coach Steven Smith called Weston “clinical” after he scored two goals in a Rangers B win over Broomhill earlier in the season, saying: “We created plenty of chances last week and we spoke about getting numbers and getting goals and getting assists.
“Those are things that Tony does get. Today, the chances fell in the right areas and he managed to finish them. We spoke about being clinical and he was certainly that.”
Although he is still developing, Weston has an abundance of talent which could have been of use to Everton in the coming years, particularly if they are to lose their star strikers this summer amid relegation. It could be one that Moshiri looks back upon as a howler on his part.
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