The 19-year-old made the move to Goodison Park from Juventus in the final stages of the summer transfer window, becoming one of the club's most exciting signings. But he has been used sparingly by Marco Silva and will take time to get used to life in the Premier League.
A total of 20 players make the final cut for the accolade, awarded by Italian newspaper Tuttosport for the best player under the age of 21 to be playing in the top tier of European football.
Kean makes the list with a host of the world's best youngsters, including the winner of last year's award Matthijs de Ligt.
Three other Premier League players also make the shortlist: Man City's Phil Foden, Matteo Guendouzi of Arsenal and Chelsea star Mason Mount.
Reader Comments (54)
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3 Posted 15/10/2019 at 15:45:47
My question to Marco Silva would be,"How can he get used to the the Premier League, with so little chance to experience it?â€
4 Posted 15/10/2019 at 15:51:04
6 Posted 15/10/2019 at 17:18:07
7 Posted 15/10/2019 at 17:18:12
Or, yet again, like Lookman, his talent will benefit another team!
8 Posted 15/10/2019 at 18:30:59
Play him. Play him from the start. Give him the chance to have a proper impact on the game. Not like anyone else is scoring bags of goals, is it?
9 Posted 15/10/2019 at 18:36:15
It can't be easy for a 19-year-old with a high price tag, coming to not only a different country but playing in a different League.
I too believe the lad would benefit massively from playing alongside either Calvert-Lewin or Tosun, and has neither the experience nor game to play as a lone striker. I really like the lad and hope it all comes good for him and Everton, of course.
10 Posted 15/10/2019 at 18:56:20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBWqu52Yo2A
11 Posted 15/10/2019 at 18:59:59
12 Posted 15/10/2019 at 19:35:54
13 Posted 15/10/2019 at 19:58:32
14 Posted 15/10/2019 at 20:02:20
15 Posted 15/10/2019 at 20:06:27
16 Posted 15/10/2019 at 20:12:36
17 Posted 15/10/2019 at 20:25:36
I expect anmother shite display with hardly any shots on goal or chances created.
God forbid we get entertained.
18 Posted 15/10/2019 at 20:27:39
19 Posted 15/10/2019 at 21:04:17
Michael #14, brilliant comment. Can't wait for your next burst of wisdom. And the flushing sound that goes with it.
20 Posted 15/10/2019 at 21:04:26
The above seems to be the sentiment the club feels towards Kean, this may well have taken the pressure off him and also might have took the wind out of his sails at the same time.
We've just paid in the region of 㿊m for him, we didn't bring Lukaku from Chelsea (for similar money) to us to take it easy until he feels he can make a contribution and I don't think Leicester or Wolves would be spending that kind of money on a player without expecting an almost immediate contribution.
22 Posted 15/10/2019 at 21:06:45
23 Posted 15/10/2019 at 21:13:02
24 Posted 15/10/2019 at 21:50:48
No other club in the Premier League would pay 㿊 million for a 19-year-old striker who is clearly so unprepared for the pressure of scoring in double figures, goals that we so badly needed this season.
It has to go down as a huge error and an amateurish decision by Brands and Silva. His inclusion for the above award is a joke.
25 Posted 15/10/2019 at 22:21:02
He's neat and tidy enough in possession - especially when given time on the ball - and gets around the pitch well; he is still prone to switching off - it was his man who he failed to track who scored the Austria goal - and he still tries to win the ball in areas that will expose his team-mates if he is unsuccessful.
In the Under-21s he is surrounded by attacking players that are match-winners - Hudson-Odoi, Foden, Nketia - and a back four who are all exceptional athletes. We all know that the current Everton side does not afford him the same luxuries.
26 Posted 15/10/2019 at 22:24:32
Look at some of the first season stats for one of the greatest to have ever graced the game:
"Henry left Monaco in January 1999, one year before his intimate and closest teammate David Trezeguet, and moved to Italian club Juventus for 㾶.5 million. He played on the wing, but he was ineffective against the defensive discipline exhibited by teams in Serie A, struggling in a position that was uncharacteristic for him, scoring just three goals in 16 appearances."
27 Posted 15/10/2019 at 22:32:26
Obviously predicated on his time at Juve and not at Everton.
28 Posted 15/10/2019 at 22:37:24
Or do what we do with every other young player (Calvert-Lewin, Davies, Holgate, Barkley, Kenny) and get on his back and we will piss 㿊 million down the drain.
29 Posted 15/10/2019 at 22:38:06
What are the chances of him turning into the new Henry? It's a ridiculous comparison, I think we know what was needed this summer and buying more potential in the striker role, we already have Calvert-Lewin, is what I'd call a load of shit.
30 Posted 15/10/2019 at 23:10:28
31 Posted 15/10/2019 at 23:36:00
As for the nomination, it's clearly based on how he finished the season with Juventus and is most certainly not a joke.
32 Posted 15/10/2019 at 23:58:11
33 Posted 16/10/2019 at 00:20:10
34 Posted 16/10/2019 at 00:21:16
If we carry on with this manager in the same rich vein of form "one of the top striking prospects in all of world football" will be playing in the Championship next season. Just a thought.
35 Posted 16/10/2019 at 00:30:23
We've just sold a player who was the full thing / real deal to PSG and another has gone back to Chelsea. They're out there... we just have to be looking for value in the "here and now" instead of 3/4 years down the line when Moshiri has pissed off and sold us and we are where we are now or worse. But I can't see better if we carry on like we are.
36 Posted 16/10/2019 at 00:36:32
Why did Juve sell "literally one of the top striking prospects in all of world football"?
Why didn't they keep this super-hot prospect for themselves?
Surely his value can only go up (massively)?
37 Posted 16/10/2019 at 09:25:09
What I am sure of is that it will not happen at Everton if we continue playing the way we are; relying very heavily upon overlapping full backs and crosses into the box.
Kean is not small but his leap and heading abilities are not among his best qualities. He needs ball to feet, played in or ideally through the central areas. He has decent movement and looks a fairly natural finisher to me. Get him running at defenders or even better with the ball at his feet in the box. Keep lumping crosses or long balls into him at chest or head height and you'll see the confidence continue to drain from the lad. He's not a hold up striker so not well suited to a lone striker unless the ball is played over the top or into space for him to run onto.
38 Posted 16/10/2019 at 09:30:25
Juve sold him because his contract was running down and he was apparently not keen to sign a new one (due to the racism in Italy). Plus Sarri was supposedly not super keen on him and prefers experienced players like Higuain.
We made a very decent offer for a young player running down his contract whose value was unlikely to go up while Sarri left him on the bench (if that).
39 Posted 15/10/2019 at 09:38:52
The team really are a pile of shit at the moment and it's impossible for anybody to smell of roses right now. We have good players, and I personally believe Kean is one of them but for Christ's sake give the guy a chance.
Fucking Marco Silva is doing fucking nothing for any of them. At this point, I really do feel that any of our players would do better in any other team where they could get a game.
40 Posted 16/10/2019 at 10:37:38
Also, why didn't he give McCarthy a chance after we let go of Gana? Get shot of Silva!
41 Posted 16/10/2019 at 10:53:43
Once he starts scoring, I believe we will see the real player come out and he will be one of the first names on the team sheet. Hopefully a great player in the making and a blue idol of the future.
COYB
42 Posted 16/10/2019 at 12:28:11
I don't know of many 19-year-olds that are regular first-team starters in any top European league. Maybe Mbape, Messi, Ronaldo were fairly regular and our own Richarlison at Watford but even they had plenty of criticism and indifferent form.
Kean has ability and the physical attributes to be very good but it's about attitude, hard work, a good team fit and a bit of luck to make it to world class level.
This discussion of what Everton need now and the rest of this season is a long one but I'm hoping Kean can contribute to that. I agree he's not a target man so he needs to improve movement, work rate and link-up play.
I think like Richarlison, playing out wide and cutting in may be his best position whilst he's learning. He played well there for Italy but that's only going from a handful of mainly U21 games I watched.
43 Posted 16/10/2019 at 13:58:14
I think we are all disappointed that Kean has not started on fire but this kid has the potential to be a great player for us. Yes we are missing the finished article now but we were missing it last year and were still able to win games of football. This is the one bit of business his summer that Brands should not be in the dock for.
For me the 'amateurish' behaviour of the club came when we gave our best player away and for buttons, as well as not finding an adequate replacement for Zouma leaving an unbalanced partnership at the back and the team weaker than the previous season.
44 Posted 16/10/2019 at 15:02:13
45 Posted 16/10/2019 at 15:22:48
His inclusion suggests this isn't based on what has been done on the pitch but what people are saying these players will eventually do on the pitch. If Foden is there, then Kean deserves to be based on his Juventus games.
As for why Juve sold him and the assumption we have been gazumped, it is often the case in Italy that the clubs want the here and now, not the potential. Look how long they cling on to older players like Del Piero, Nedved, Totti...Juve themselves brought in Ronaldo who is now conserving his running and performances to get him through a season.
This along with Sarri's preference for experience and Kean's abuse from the stands - as mentioned above - suggests we have made an astute signing.
I prefer deals like this say over what we did with Deulofeu. We took him on loan from a Barcelona hedging their bets, then we bought him then ended up loaning him out ourselves. What did we have to show for all the back and forth? A handful of memorable performances and a paltry profit, probably mostly used on agent and legal fees.
With Kean we've got him fully, there's commitment from both sides. I hope he goes on to become a Goodison great. If it doesn't work out, there will always be someone out there willing to buy him probably at a profit for us.
46 Posted 16/10/2019 at 15:50:54
Reading and interpreting the various posts on any topic on TW is always thoroughly entertaining and could be included as a module on any university Sociology/English/Media etc etc course. It's often a lot more entertaining than watching the team play.
47 Posted 16/10/2019 at 17:09:07
It doesn't matter whether Sari likes him or not, Juve have DoF, it's his decision. Sari might be sacked after 6 months and they're not going to sell all their young talent on the whims of a coach who might not be there anymore.
Money talks, if Juve suspected this kid is another Drogba in the making they'd have offered him mucho money, love, kisses and assurances these nasties in the crowd will never get near him.
We came along with an offer that Juve couldn't refuse, put that together with the "Money talks" line above and what it implies (they don't rate him), this kid in their estimate isn't capable of unseating a pensioner like Higuain now or in the future (else they'd have kept their young Drogba).
48 Posted 16/10/2019 at 17:28:26
Did you even bother to read my post.
Kean is a prospect agreed, my point was if we had £30 million to spend, the priority was to find a proven goalscorer. We'res the evidence of the goals we require, have you looked at the table lately ?
It was a cardinal sin to ignore the fact we needed goals and a breathtaking error from the amateurs in charge that they didn't address the problem in the summer. Is that easy enough for you to understand.
49 Posted 16/10/2019 at 17:53:49
Football is a business. And we paid good money for a fairly unproven kid who wanted out and was not fancied by their current manager. They also possibly needed to balance the books after De Ligt.
I know what you're saying. If Juve were certain he was destined to be a superstar then perhaps they would have fought harder but no-one can be certain of a 19-year-old‘s future in the game. Lots of good teams lose young players who go searching for more minutes (like Gnabry at Arsenal). Doesn't mean they don't rate them.
50 Posted 16/10/2019 at 19:26:32
In case you haven't been watching us it's not a matter of our strikers missing chances to blame for our current predicament there are numerous problems with the team all over the park.
Haller a decent if not spectacular centre forward went for 55 million and the Newcastle lad for 42 million. If we had signed the former who is 26 we may get 2 or 3 good seasons from him (even if successful which isn't guaranteed) and would be back with the same problem in a few years.
Kean imo will prove a steal and while having him and DCL as our strike options wouldn't be good enough for where the club fancifully tipped us to be it certainly doesn't explain why we are sitting where we are.
51 Posted 16/10/2019 at 21:43:29
Did we not bid £40 million plus for Zaha? So there was easily enough money available for a top class striker.
52 Posted 16/10/2019 at 21:55:28
53 Posted 16/10/2019 at 22:40:52
At the time I was reading disturbing reports that we'd actually bid upto £70m+ for Zaha, don't know whether it's true or not, but £40m only got you half of him.
54 Posted 16/10/2019 at 07:13:17
We dodged a bullet there, he'd be worth a lot more than £70 million if he could score regularly though.
55 Posted 17/10/2019 at 17:11:56
But, that said, there's still good time for Lookman to show what he can do.
Like most, I wish we'd see more of Kean, whether it's alongside DCL, or other solutions.
56 Posted 17/10/2019 at 22:01:45
Arsenal were luke warm about him and none of the other big boys showed any interest, my instincts also say we dodged it.
I'd have wanted everyone sacked at EFC if we'd have paid what they were asking for him.
57 Posted 18/10/2019 at 10:01:42
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2 Posted 15/10/2019 at 15:38:23
I think he will become a good player but Silva's slow, laboured wing play has not given him too many chances.
To improve, I would suggest to him that he watch videos of Vardy's movement on a loop and hope for a change in manager.