Everton lost Mohamed-Ali Cho back in 2020 after the Frenchman became disillusioned with life at Goodison Park.
The 20-year-old joined Everton at Under-11 level in 2015, and surely hoped to emulate the likes of Wayne Rooney on Merseyside as he made a name for himself in the youth ranks.
However, Cho clearly didn’t see any pathway into the first-team, and his decision now looks to have paid off.
What’s the story?
Well, it was The Athletic who claimed that Cho felt disillusioned with life at Everton, and while his exit was not a mutual decision with the Toffees desperate to keep him, he was eventually allowed to join Angers SCO.
Now – after earning a €12m (£11m) move to Real Sociedad in June 2022 – the talented prospect has been named one of football’s top nine wonderkids.
Goal have released their NXGN list of the best 50 wonderkids in football right now, with Cho earning a place in the top nine alongside the likes of Gavi, Endrick and Yousouffa Moukoko.
To put that into context, Endrick has just been signed by Real Madrid from Palmeiras in a £60m deal.
Therefore, Cho finds himself in esteemed company, and his inclusion in the top nine is sure to make Everton regret losing him.
Everton must be cautious of repeating Cho mistake
As things stand, Everton find themselves battling relegation – as they have done a number of times in the past few years.
That does not create an environment in which managers feel they can blood young talent, and if Sean Dyche cannot transform the Toffees back into a side who aim for the top half of the Premier League, we fear there will be a repeat of the incident involving Cho.
Aside from Anthony Gordon, Everton have barely fielded any academy graduates in recent years, which does not exactly provide much hope to their current crop of exciting prospects.
Hopefully, Dyche can change Everton’s fortunes, which could enable more gems to emerge from the academy like Wayne Rooney and Jack Rodwell once did.
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