Jayden Lienou signed all the paperwork and left Everton to join Manchester City, according to Fabrizio Romano.
On March 27, the Italian journalist revealed on Twitter that the teenage full-back had been selected for their academy above two other English clubs.
The 15-year-old Lienou, who was obviously a sought-after young player, finalized his transfer as part of City’s “long term strategy to sign best talents.”
In the summer, City made an attempt to sign another full-back from the Toffees youth, but Ishe Samuels-Smith eventually moved to Chelsea without ever playing for the main team on Merseyside.
Another one from Finch Farm lost for the future for Everton
In Lienou’s case, teams are essentially helpless against the biggest footballing powers in Europe snatching up talented prospects—and they don’t come much bigger than Pep Guardiola’s current squad.
In a difficult financial condition, Everton had to give up on prospects like Samuels-Smith, Ellis Simms, and others in the summer in order to make whatever revenue they could.
But the Toffees might only receive a meager compensation sum that seems like little recompense if Lienou succeeds at City or somewhere else.
The Welsh under-16 international would not have posed much of a threat to Everton’s first team, but losing prospects for later in the pipeline won’t help when Sean Dyche himself admits [Liverpool Echo, 9 March] that the pipeline of talent from the academy to the senior set up has dried up.
Before making his £45 million move to Newcastle [Sky Sports], Anthony Gordon was the last truly homegrown breakthrough. Meanwhile, Jarrad Branthwaite, who joined the team at the age of 17 from Carlisle United, has blossomed into a star, and City has also lined up to take him away from the Toffees.
Apart from Lewis Dobbin, though, there hasn’t been a clear route to the first squad in recent years, which has made things more difficult for the team lately as they’ve had to operate under tighter restrictions in the transfer market.
