Everton right to sanction Ellis Simms loan [Opinion]

Twenty minutes was all it took for Everton’s Ellis Simms to show his new club what he can do, coming off the bench to score a brace for Blackpool.

The loanee made an instant impact in impressive style as he came off the bench to make an impact for Neil Critchley’s side against Wigan in League One.

It was a quickfire flurry from the young Toffee as he poached a goal in the 87th minute, before doubling his tally in added time to complete the Tangerines’ 5-0 thrashing of the Latics, in which he replaced Jerry Yates in the 70th minute.

Just as Simms got straight to the point as to what he can provide, so too did he prove Everton right. He was allowed to leave on loan despite a previous injury to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, leaving out-of-favour Turkish striker Cenk Tosun as the only centre-forward available to Carlo Ancelotti.

Ordinarily nonsensical from a perspective of squad depth, all parties must have believed Simms would be stifled in the short term at Goodison Park.

His Blackpool debut, which came against Brighton in the FA Cup last weekend, was significant in itself, but it was also Simms’ first taste of senior footballing action.

Marking a milestone of his development in style, his brace should go a long way in putting him on the radar – especially with the coaching setup at his parent club. Indeed, he has already made quite an impression on Everton under-23s assistant coach John Ebbrell, who told Liverpool Echo: “From experience, I know if you have time to think for that finish it can be difficult but Ellis is really calm and composed in those situations. He very rarely misses.”

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Admittedly, it is too early to declare his late-game panache as a definitive statement of future heroism from Simms, but it is nonetheless a promising starting point.

A knock-on effect in terms of increased minutes could enable further exposure at Blackpool and facilitate further scoring success.

With all of his career still ahead of him, the 19-year-old’s medium-term plan is surely to pierce the barriers of Ancelotti’s mind and convince him he can work his way up to the Premier League.

Choosing Blackpool was no coincidence. All parties must have felt Simms had the best shot at playing regularly and improving. An asset to both the Tangerines and Everton, Simms has now shown his own footballing assets to the world.

His loan move has the makings of a robust springboard for future integration into Everton’s first team.