Everton complete first summer signing

In a move that seems to bolster their youth, but nothing major that will be an influence on the next manager, Everton have signed 18-year-old youth player Bassala Sambou from Coventry City.

The forward scored 21 goals in the U-18 side and another four in the U-21's, but a path to the first team was not clear and with the ability to look elsewhere he decided a shot at the Premier League would be best.

We had reported on the Toffees interest in the Sky Blues player back in April when the forward was linked with a move to Goodison Park.

Coventry had promised the player a shot at preseason game time to claim a spot on the senior side, but Sambou decided that wasn't enough. That said he now faces a much harder set of challenges in a team with a suddenly large budget.

Even if Romelu Lukaku leaves this year you can expect the Toffees to fill the striker position with several options making Sambou, who has signed a three-year deal, a U-21 regular for now.

Don't expect much more action than this until the team decides on a manager and then perhaps even the Director of Football position as well. Once those spots are full we can fully expect the budget to be drawn up and the signings to commence.

U21 coach David Unsworth said:

"I tracked his progress over the whole of last season and he'll be a quality player to take into the Under-21 group and he's a really exciting prospect for the future.

"We're pleased to be able to take him here as I believe he'll be a Premier League player in the future."