Everton have poached highly-rated England u15 goalkeeper Ruben Savvas from city rivals Liverpool, according to reports.
The 14-year-old will join Everton’s academy side for a fee of £200,000 in an unusual transfer between the two Merseyside clubs.
The fee seems to have been agreed between the two clubs and means they will not have to head to a tribunal. FIFA rules say that if a fee for an u16 player cannot be agreed it must then go to an independent tribunal to decide how much the player is worth.
The rule says: “‘If the two Clubs are unable to agree a compensation fee, the fee will be settled by a Tribunal and such decision will be final and binding. Therefore, Clubs are encouraged to agree compensation fees without recourse to the Tribunal process.”
The move is a real coup for Everton, which has a relatively long list of talented goalkeepers at academy level. Harry Tyrer and Northern Ireland international Fraser Barnsley are the more senior goalkeepers in the structure, while George Pickford and the highly-rated England youth international Douglass Lukjanciks both trained with the first team this summer.
At lower age groups last year’s scholar Gospel-Eze will compete with Seve Patrick for the u18 spot. Patrick was named as a 2025 scholar and started the last eight games of the u18 season, earning rave reviews for his excellent shot stopping.
Abdulla Alhammadi, the UAE goalkeeper who surprised fans when he appeared as a trialist in the second Bramley Moore test event, was also spotted training with the u21s on Formby beach recently but there is no indication the club has signed him permanently.
Luke Forsyth, an u21 goalkeeper in the local Liverpool leagues, was also included in u21 match day squads last season and is listed as an Everton player on the Premier League website.