Everton U21 centre-back Reece Welch has been recalled from his season-long loan at Forest Green Rovers in League Two, with Everton concerned that he had fallen out of favour.
The 20-year-old centre-back has found his playing time limited throughout December completing only 9 minutes of football in the past six league matches.
It seemed in the earlier months of the campaign that Welch had established himself in the Nailsworth team, with 12 out of 13 starts, and being subbed off in only one of those games. However, seven of those games were losses with FGR eventually sliding to the bottom of the League Two table.
Everton are likely to send him back out on loan elsewhere if a suitable club can be found before the transfer window closes.
Reader Comments (9)
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()
2 Posted 03/01/2024 at 18:52:08
I know we are not a good example on the managerial merry-go-round, but that takes some beating and is not a stable environment for a young player's development.
3 Posted 03/01/2024 at 19:45:36
Without wishing to be cruel, if a 20-year-old can't get game time with them, they are never going to make it as a contender in the EPL, barring a Lazarus-style miracle. FGR are rubbish and heading out the league into non-league football.
At best, we might get a few quid for him from a League One or Two side.
4 Posted 03/01/2024 at 23:18:56
Reece was in the First-11 rotation right from his arrival at Forest Green right up until the last 2 games, where he was left out of the team.
I'm disappointed Thelwell sent him to the worst team in League Two, but he did get regular playing time without injury, so all to the good.
He's played both centre-back positions, left and right in a Back 3, got a few minutes at right-back, and even some minutes in the midfield.
If Robert Tressell's suggested scenario doesn't play out, I hope Thelwell is at least sending Reece out to a League One team.
5 Posted 04/01/2024 at 01:14:53
Sure, you always have exceptions like Jamie Vardy but, if you are scrapping to make an impact at this level at 20, you are very unlikely to make it at the top level.
Given his record and performances, would a League One team even be interested? If so, then for sure it is more realistic than being a back-up with us, as Robert suggested.
Having seen him a couple of times, I think he would be miles out of his depth. If he could find his feet at League One level, at least we might get a few quid for him.
6 Posted 04/01/2024 at 02:57:43
From a prospect development point of view, there is nothing wrong with sending young guns to some of the worst teams in the EFL to get playing time. If not for the needs of the bad teams, where can we send them to get playing times?
Also, playing meaningful minutes for relegation strugglers can teach the youngsters to handle pressure-cooker situations every week.
IMHO, recalling Welch is more a "Duncan isn't there anymore, so no more favours required".
7 Posted 04/01/2024 at 21:07:19
There's Everton Reece Welch and whatever Reece Welch you're talking about.
8 Posted 04/01/2024 at 21:10:59
Hopefully Thelwell pulled Reece back to get him a team in League 1 for the second half of the season.
9 Posted 06/01/2024 at 01:17:02
Like you said, fingers crossed that Thelwell can find him a team in League One (if not, a promotion-chasing League Two team would be a good fall-back option) between now and the transfer deadline.
Add Your Comments
In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.
Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.
How to get rid of these ads and support TW
1 Posted 03/01/2024 at 18:47:45