Everton sign three first team players to new contracts

Fresh on the heels of an excellent run of form, Everton Football Club have today announced the contract renewal of three young, promising first team players. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jonjoe Kenny, and Mason Holgate have all signed new deals.

Defenders Kenny and Holgate will remain at Finch Farm until the end of 2022, while Calvert-Lewin sticks around until 2023.

Speaking to Everton’s website, manager Sam Allardyce had glowing praise for the trio.

We’re delighted that these young men have committed long-term to the Club and there’s no doubt in my mind that they will play big roles at Everton for a long time to come.

The depth of young talent in our squad is very encouraging, a clear sign that we do things right as a Club in our development of young players and Mason, Jonjoe and Dominic epitomise what we are trying to accomplish with young players here at Everton.

I’ve made the point before that Jonjoe’s decision-making for such a young man is very impressive and part of the reason he makes the game look simple.“He is also an excellent defender, very grounded as an individual and he has an innate desire to succeed. He’s hungry and his choice of ball possession is first-class for a young man. He is an outstanding young man at full-back.

For me, Mason Holgate’s potential is becoming a reality. He has set his standards in these past number of games he’s been involved in and it’s a matter of him maintaining those standards, continuing to work hard on his game and then he can become a really top player in the Premier League.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, too, is a really exciting talent, he’s improving all the time and he has the athleticism and attributes to become a top player in his position.“Working so closely with a player like Wayne Rooney can’t fail to help him in the role he plays in the team and, collectively, these three players will all have big parts to play here in the years ahead.

Kenny, the 20 year old local lad, was made up to be staying with his boyhood club, stating that “I want to stay at Everton as long as I can”, while Calvert-Lewin was thrilled to be able to keep working with the likes of Wayne Rooney.

It’s an exciting time to be here and, for me, learning from players such as Wayne Rooney couldn’t be better for my ongoing development.

Mason Holgate, a Barnsley product, is encouraged by how the club treat their young players.

It is a good time to be young at Everton. You get a lot of chances. Every now and then, clubs get a spurt of players from the same generation coming through and hopefully that is what is happening here.

There are a lot of players around my age – Dom, ’Mola [Ademola Lookman], Davo [Tom Davies], and Jonjoe - and hopefully we can all be here for a long time.

Holgate has followed much the same path as John Stones, also from Barnsley. The natural center-back endured a spell at right back where he struggled prior to just recently finding form back in the center.

Kenny, replacing Holgate on the right side, has shown an impressive ability to bomb down the flank while maintaining his defensive duties.

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

It is perhaps Calvert-Lewin, though, who has shown the most promise of the three youngsters. With 6 goals and 6 assists in 1,700 minutes across all competitions, “DCL” could very well be Everton’s future at striker - and perhaps England’s, too.

Whichever player you rate highest, one thing is clear - Everton Football Club do a wonderful job with young players, and the future is very, very bright.