Everton have agreed a deal for £45m striker which is regarded as the next Rooney

Everton now haven’t lost in the Premier League since the middle of January having collected a 1-1 draw away at relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out.

Only one victory has come the Toffees’ way over the course of their last five top-flight outings – with the draws continuing to pile up and up – but David Moyes‘ men will be loving how secure they feel in the division all the way up in 14th spot.

Still, the Scotsman now occupying the Goodison Park dug-out once more will want some improvements from Beto after he barely got going at Molineux, despite being his side’s joint top scorer in league action.

Beto’s poor display vs Wolves

Indeed, the Portuguese attacker might well boast six Premier League strikes this campaign so far, but he looked way off his usual best in the West Midlands.

His clinical edge was nowhere to be seen as two big chances were spurned, whilst the ex-Udinese man found himself way off the pace when trying to get involved in general play away from being unleashed in-front of goal, with only three accurate passes registered from his meagre 25 touches of the ball.

Amazingly, the out-of-sorts number 14 wasn’t hauled off at any point by Moyes during the 1-1 draw, which is likely due to the fact his other striker options on the substitutes bench weren’t plentiful owing to Dominic Calvert-Lewin being sidelined through injury.

Therefore, to shake things up away from over-relying on Beto to deliver the goods, the ex-West Ham United boss could be prepared to give an electric young star a chance in the first-team picture, with Moyes perhaps unearthing his next Wayne Rooney in the process.

Moyes’ next Rooney lying in wait at Everton

All those years ago, Moyes was the main man at the Toffees helm when Rooney initially made his breakthrough on Merseyside.

He handed a spritely teenager his professional debut at the tender age of 16 years, nine months and 24 days.

The rest ended up being history for the now-retired Toffees great after he stunned Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman only a couple of games into his fledging senior career, with 17-year-old hot prospect Braiden Graham now aiming to replicate Rooney’s blistering entry onto the first-team scene.

Staggeringly, there have been five younger debutants at Goodison than the much-talked-about Rooney, with three of the top five above handed their first-ever chances in the senior game under Moyes’ watchful eye.

Therefore, the aforementioned Graham will surely fancy his chances at breaking into the men’s team soon, with the Northern Irish teenager already breaking records back at his previous side in Linfield when he was launched into the senior picture aged just 15.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

Since then, the Ballygowan-born sensation has made quite the impression on Merseyside, with Graham picking up eight strikes from 18 games representing both the U18s and U21s.

Unfazed by being thrown into the U21 set-up, Graham could fancy his chances very soon of being second-in-command to Beto, with the 17-year-old keen to etch his name into Toffees folklore as another exciting and raw youngster who took to the first-team swimmingly.

Indeed, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s contract coming to an end in the summer, there will be an opening for either a new signing or young hero to make the mark inside the new stadium.

Much like Rooney too, the “incredible” starlet – as he was once labelled by his ex-Linfield boss in David Healy – can play as a number ten if needed, away from leading the line with venom.

Arguably, Everton do need some freshening up in the striker spots, with Graham perhaps the next bold pick by Moyes to get the Goodison masses out of their seats.

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