Everton Under-18s coach Keith Southern and Head of Academy Sports Science John McKeown are set to depart the club, according to a report from X account The Bobble, as the ongoing restructure of Everton’s academy continues.
The report follows Everton’s confirmation roughly a week ago of a wider shake-up at Finch Farm, with a new overall academy manager, Dean Rastrick, brought in from outside the club, bringing experience from spells at Norwich City, Tottenham Hotspur, Luton Town and Derby County, as well as work with the Premier League’s Professional Game Academy Audit Company.
At the time of that initial announcement, there was no mention of Southern’s position, prompting speculation over where the long-serving coach stood amid the changes.
Southern has been a fixture of Everton’s academy setup for a number of years, having overseen the Under-18s and spoken publicly last season about the development pathway the age group provides. McKeown has similarly been a long-standing part of the club’s sports science staff, working across the Under-21s and academy programme.
Neither departure has been confirmed by Everton, nor independently corroborated by other outlets at the time of writing, so this should be treated as developing rather than settled.
If accurate, though, it would mark the clearest sign yet of how far the academy review is set to reach beyond the top-level appointment already announced, with further changes to the coaching and sports science staff potentially still to come.
Story is based on reporting from The Bobble (@ElBobble) and has not been independently confirmed by Everton.
