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Everton have committed to JonJoe Kenny with a three year deal today for the Everton Academy graduate. A long time player for the club having joined at the age of 9, the right back is currently the captain of the Under 21 side. He played in his first Premier League game last May and has also been on loan to Wigan Athletic and Oxford United.
| Watch @jonjoekenny8 and David Unsworth talk about the young defender's new contract. Well done, Jonjoe! #EFC pic.twitter.com/au3r31IsHE
— Everton (@Everton) September 29, 2016
The contract will keep Kenny in Everton Blue until the end of the 2018/2019 season and with continued improvement perhaps more first side appearances before then. Kenny has 26 appearances for England youth sides from U16 to U19, scoring one goal.
In an interview with evertontv, Kenny said -
“This contract means the world to me. I love this Club and it’s where I want to be, so hopefully I can kick on. Playing for the first-team at the end of last season was a dream come true and I want more of that.
“My family and all the [Academy] coaches have helped me get this far and now I’ve got David Unsworth. He’s really helped me - I’ve become fitter and a better player, so I owe him a lot of thanks as well.
“With the new manager, you get the nod every now and again to train with the first-team. Those are the opportunities when you have got to show how good you are. When they come around, you have to do well.”
He has also begun appearing in Under 23 games under manager David Unsworth who talked about the young defender -
“When I first came back into the building [in 2013], Jonjoe was one of the players who caught my eye.
“He has shown desire to want to play for this Club and is a proper Everton footballer.
At only 19 years of age Kenny has some time before being a central part of Everton, but Everton will be looking for young defensive options in the near future as the current squad is built around two center backs and a left back all over the age of 30. While he has plenty of competition from older defenders including Mason Holgate, Tyias Browning, Brendan Galloway, Matthew Pennington and Luke Garbutt, it appears Everton hope he can compete with this group as well.