Dowell and Connolly sign new deals, one goes on loan

Young Evertonians Kieran Dowell and Callum Connolly have both signed new three year deals with the club, with the latter going out immediately on loan to Wigan Athletic.

Both players should be able to expect regular minutes this season, with the defensive midfielder Connolly returning to the place where he spent the last half of the 2016-2017 season. Dowell now looks to be the primary backup for Gylfi Sigurdsson in the Everton senior squad as we head into the new year, after a very effective campaign where he produced 9 goals and 4 assists for Nottingham Forest.

These extensions indicate that both players are in the long term plans of the club, and both are well deserved. Dowell in particular is one of the brightest young talents in Everton’s system and I am very excited to see what he looks like at the Premier League level. In the midst of all the deadline day insanity, it is good to see that Everton is taking care of business both in terms of transfers in and also taking care of the players already here.