Astley signs professional contract

Thursday, 17 January, 2019 14comments  |  Jump to most recent

Everton Academy graduate Ryan Astley has signed his first professional deal with Everton after agreeing a contract that runs until the end of June 2021.

The 17-year-old centre-back, a Wales youth international, has made the transition this season to become an integral part of David Unsworth's table-topping Under-23s, after helping Paul Tait's Under-18s lead the way in Premier League (North).

 

Reader Comments (14)

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Ian Bennett
1 Posted 17/01/2019 at 15:46:07
Really pleased to see this lad sign up. He's from my neck of the woods when I was a kid, and I hope he makes it.
Kase Chow
2 Posted 17/01/2019 at 15:56:16
Fingers crossed, lad!
Paul Hughes
3 Posted 17/01/2019 at 17:12:46
Yes, best of luck, Ryan. Let's hope you turn into a good 'un.
Mike Gaynes
4 Posted 17/01/2019 at 17:28:11
Unsworth said Astley was the "best player on the pitch, it was a stunning performance" when he made his U-23 debut last March, when he was still only 16.

And last week after the loss to Leicester U-23 Rhino said: "I'm so proud of him... He's come into the group, he's playing out of position at right-back – he's a centre-back really – and he's been terrific. He was excellent."

Arsenal was reportedly in for him, so we've done well to lock him in.

Pat Finegan
5 Posted 17/01/2019 at 17:54:12
Never gonna give us up,
Never gonna let us down....

Quality signing.

Jay Wood
[BRZ]

6 Posted 17/01/2019 at 18:11:07
What Mike Gaynes says.

All the noises coming out of Finch Farm speak extremely highly of this lad.

Still very, very young. Still plenty to go wrong, as other 'world beaters' at 16-17 have done in the past, losing their way and desire for the game.

Hopefully, with Brands' hand on the tiller, we are going to increasingly see more of this kind of talent and potential progress to our first team.

Steve Ferns
7 Posted 17/01/2019 at 18:15:27
We've not been given the full story here. Everton have signed him up under pressure from other clubs. Astley is very highly rated and was wanted by a number of big clubs, most publicly Arsenal.

Maybe he won't make it, but it's good to see he's staying with us and not pursuing a career elsewhere. It puts a long-running saga to bed and comes after he stepped up a level. Let's hope he has some luck and fulfills that early promise.

Geoff Lambert
8 Posted 17/01/2019 at 18:20:15
Pat!,

Let's hope he's...

"Never gonna run around and desert us
Never gonna make us cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you"

Like most of them do... Haha!

Geoff Lambert
9 Posted 17/01/2019 at 18:23:47
Young ToffeeWeb contingent scratching their heads now...
Mark Murphy
11 Posted 17/01/2019 at 18:33:18
Wrong ,Geoff...

Paul Young sang “Wherever I lay my hat”

It's RIck Astley they're on about!
😬

Steven Astley
12 Posted 17/01/2019 at 20:17:00
Welcome, Ryan.
Justin Doone
13 Posted 17/01/2019 at 21:00:25
Hopefully he makes it and doesn't have an agent pursuing a different cash agenda. I've not seen him so I ask is he really a centre back or like many before somewhere in between a full back and centre back?

What are his strengths? A John Terry or Rio Ferdinand would be welcome.

I use Holgate and Galloway both of whom I rate highly but needed to grow into the role whilst physically still developing and somewhat lost their way being played out of position. I think by 25 or 26, both will be very good defenders, how good is the unknown.

Mike Gaynes
14 Posted 17/01/2019 at 21:07:03
Steven #12, you should be very proud of your son! ;-)
John Kavanagh
15 Posted 18/01/2019 at 12:11:10
Good luck to Ryan and I hope he develops into a top player. Even if he doesn't make it to the first team (very few do), it at least looks likely that he will have a career in football, which represents another success for our academy.

As Brands has said, our strategy can only be based on bringing players through the academy, supplemented by signings. FFP prevents us simply going out and buying top players, so we must make the academy the engine room of the club's development strategy.

I just hope that if he ever does make it to the first team, our supporters give him lots of encouragement rather than losing patience at the first mistake.


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