Everton lock up promising midfielder until 2023

Everton have now confirmed that Tom Davies has indeed signed a new deal that keeps him at Everton until 2023.

Speaking after the signing, Davies said to evertontv -

“I am made up to sign a new deal. It is all I have ever wanted since I was a kid and I am so happy. I feel the Club has faith in me and they’ve shown that by giving me this contract.

“I’m progressing all the time and this is the place where I feel I can develop. It is where I want to be. I’ve had some big moments here and I want to produce more of them and show everyone how good I am.

“My ambition has always been to win something here. I would love that and I know all the other lads would love it, too.”

The manager Marco Silva has been adamant that he wants to keep Davies with the senior squad -

“It’s really important to secure Tom’s future here at Everton. He’s an important player for us now and he will be going forward, for sure.

“He’s had some very good moments this season, captaining the team and taking big responsibility on his shoulders. Even when he has not played because the competition is really tough, he has shown his desire in the way he works always.

“He’s a player from our Academy, he loves our Club and he will be a really important player in the years to come.”

Tom Davies has not seen much playing time in recent weeks, but is about to sign a new contract with Everton.

The Daily Mail are reporting that the young midfielder is being offered a new deal with improved terms to reflect his development in Marco Silva’s squad. Davies just signed a new contract in 2017 when Ronald Koeman was in charge, but since then he’s fallen down the pecking order with the arrival of Andre Gomes this season.

Celtic were strongly linked with a loan move for the player during the January transfer window, but Silva insisted that the twenty-year-old would not be allowed to leave under any circumstances.

Davies has played in 19 games this season, starting 13 games and was even named the captain in five appearances, when he set the record for the youngest ever Everton captain. He has been at his best in an advanced role, charged with supporting Silva’s high press disrupting the opponents in their own half.

However, the Merseyside-born youngster has been a victim of his own versatility. Many have struggled to define Davies’ identity as a footballer; he burst on to the scene as a tough-tackling, no-nonsense midfielder who dovetailed perfectly alongside Idrissa Gueye and Morgan Schneiderlin and behind Ross Barkley, but often seems a player caught between two roles. Still, he’s racked up 89 total appearances for the club, and is set for more with the new deal.

He is certainly creative, albeit not as much as Barkley was, but he can also defend, though not as well as Gueye, Schneiderlin or even, arguably, James McCarthy can. Still, Davies does well advancing the attack when speed is the necessity, which has been a welcome change of pace from the last few years when the Toffees lumbered forward when in possession, and struggled to defend against pacy, counter-attacking teams.

Silva certainly has been keeping an eye on his development, and making him captain was part of keeping him integrated and developing his sense of responsibility while not overburdening him with the pressure of being a Premier League starter.

“In some moments of the season Tom did really well.

“Then we changed and Tom waits for his chance. When his chance came he answered well. I was happy with his performance in the last match. He did well in two different positions. I saw him taking responsibility and commanding the team in some moments of the match.

“You are talking about a really young player even if he has been playing the last three seasons. He has the quality to do good things but to enjoy his football also.”

Giving Davies a new deal is the right move for this team, but also ensuring that he continues to get regular playing minutes in a defined role that suits him is what will really let the youngster flourish, much like Phil Foden has done over at Manchester City.