Academy is set to lose two more up-coming stars

Not really seen much of Lawrence.

Or is it that they are being “got at”?

Either way, it needs sorting as this is the kind of young talent we can ill afford to lose.

We've already lost one to Southampton and another this week to Rangers but now we hear two more of our most promising prospects are considering jumping ship.

Maybe they're getting their heads turned by the likes of Chelsea and Man City or the toxic atmosphere at Goodison is contaminating every level of the club.

The attraction of Man City and Chelsea is that their academies are so good in terms of facilities, coaches etc that they are often regarded as a “finishing school”. They can say “Join us and we'll develop you to the next level, and if ultimately you don't make our first team, you'll be in demand from other clubs – just look at our track record.”

It looks today that 18-year-old Romeo Lavia is going from Man City to Southampton for 㾶 mill, they got him from Anderlecht 2 years ago at 16. Just one example.

If we can't compete with the likes of Man City and Chelsea, maybe we need to change tack and compete with the likes of Southampton, Leeds, and Aston Villa and snap up these players, for a fee, when they are 18.

If they'd rather go take a chance at Man City or Chelsea, then good luck. The laws are there to prevent any tie-downs with children, so not much we can really do about it.

But, if you can't beat them, join them… the depressing thing is that, other than the young striker Francis Okoronkwo from Sunderland, I can't recall many “Everton snatch very exciting 16-year-old” headlines. Hopefully recent changes change it.

As Robert says @(1) lshe Samuels-Smith has huge potential, much more potential than Thierry Small, in my opinion, and we still haven't heard how much compensation Southampton are paying us for enticing Small away from us. Liverpool had to pay Fulham about ٥M for enticing Elliot away from them.

I imagine Everton will get a lot for Lawrence; not sure about Samuels-Smith because I think he is still very young, 16?

I don't think Everton were at fault in not retaining Thierry Small, offering him very good terms but most likely he had a clued-up agent who got him a better deal from Southampton and more than likely this will be the case with Lawrence and Samuels-Smith.

I hope Everton get on the case with the clubs signing these two players and fight as hard as possible to get very good compensation for two outstanding talents.

I wouldn't blame Everton, but don't honestly know the facts, for losing these players but wised-up agents have got these players snubbing Everton for better offers. Although it must be said, at the moment, Everton are not a very attractive club to come to when the top clubs come calling for you.

The Super League isn't that far away and anyone outside the Big 6 will effectively end up as mere practice run-outs for them to prepare for Champions League games in the meantime. The threat to the Premier League hasn't gone away – it's just developing out of the limelight, with the added assistance of FFP and VAR.

"Nine years at this football club," said Bell. "Travelled the world with my best mates and beat the some of the best teams in the world. I was gonna put some of my goals on but thought there'd be too many you see.

"Some of the best moments of my life playing for this football club and wouldn't change a single thing. Thanks to every person at @Everton that made me into the person and player that I am today.

"Hopefully things will return to the way they once was at the club soon enough. Gonna be strange not putting that kit on anymore but cannot wait for the next chapter.

"Thank you for everything @everton."

He has posted effusive thanks to everyone at Everton. “Hopefully things will return to the way they once was”, if that is the supposed barb, is no more than any Evertonian would wish.

There is plenty amiss at the Club, let's not make up stuff.

But I'd be surprised and, in all honesty, if they're good enough to play for Man City or Chelsea, we would have lost them eventually.

Surely we are still due compensation?

Even if Thelwell goes all-out to try convincing these lads to stay, my reply if I were the lad (or parent of the lad) would be:

"What have you done and accomplished so far? At Wolves? At New York? That isn't even a proper football city! Whatever you are going to do here, I wish you the very best of luck! Thank you but no thanks!"

There is nothing else we can do with these two lads, but what we can do instead is to make sure this is only a "fool me once" case. The ball is now firmly in Thelwell's court to make sure there is no déjà vu in the future.

Who can Everton boast? Anthony Gordon and Tom Davies in what, the last 5 years while Holgate and Calvert-Lewin have made it after being signed from other clubs.

I can't begrudge them the money, given they may not make it at Premier League level, but it does worry me that they may be chasing the money at aged 16 or 17.

We have certainly snaffled away young players from clubs beneath us so perhaps this is “live by the sword, die by the sword” type stuff. The richest clubs continue to cherry-pick whoever they want.

Can't begrudge the kids and their families wanting to make the most money they can get but I wonder, if the academy had got more players in and around the first team over the last 5 years, whether that would make a difference? Possibly not.

That will be down to more money, better quality coaching/experience, and if they don't make it – a better club launch pad into Premier League or Championship clubs.

We need to get some players through to the first team, and Thelwell needs to get a grip of it.

Brands can moan about a lot of things, but he did nothing in this area. No talented young South Americans pushed through the lower levels, and an academy that went to seed.

As Alan says, it's not like Everton has been a place where young players coming up from the academy have a good statistical probability of playing. So I hope these are football decisions.

On that hope and assumption, an overhaul of the academy is much needed and by the sounds of it, is already in flight.

There are other factors that could be at play:

1. Upheaval and uncertainty throughout the club as we have gone through manager after manager, which will have affected the coaching regime. They will have felt the turbulence at first hand. Everton can't have been a good environment to be in over recent seasons as they were learning their trade.

2. Probably linked to point 1, but what I see as a disconnect between first team down to U23s down to youth. No end-to-end system in place to make the transition to more senior age groups and ultimately the first team smoother.

3. We have just changed the DoF, the manager (again) and Unsworth has left. Manager aside, these lads will have grown up with a management structure that has just been pulled and change is on its way. Do they feel part of that change?

I may be over-thinking, but a few things could be at play here. We need to give the new coaching establishment the time because change and implementing a coaching and playing system throughout the club won't happen overnight.

The language so far has been encouraging. But let's see that turn into action and outcomes. We finally need to remain calm and hold our nerve. Especially with youth development.

Let's put this in perspective. He's played for Scotland 16/17 but never really made a mark at Everton. Our best Under-16s feature regularly in our Under-18s, Samuels- Smith, Lawrence, Sherif last season plus at least 4 more getting appearances. Bell never featured, earlier in the season he was told he wasn't getting a scholarship and he even had a trial with the RS, which I guess came to nothing.

Good luck to him at Rangers but, from all the reports, we have better U16s coming through into our U18s this season.

This is another example of why I prefer talking to writing, because there's a lot less chance of getting crossed wires, when you speak to someone verbally! It's why I sometimes call Michael, “literal Mike” but I'm sure he knows I'm just returning the verbal blasts, that he often used to give me!

However there is another Cameron Bell, aged 35, who played for a few Scottish teams including 3 years at Glasgow Rangers, I wonder if this is a relation of the lad who has just signed for Rangers, the youngster is listed as a Scottish citizen.

That's how read it. Your Tony was right – the lad was having a dig – but I think it was at his own expense.