Everton have confirmed a first professional contract for striking sensation Ellis Simms.
The 18-year-old has caught the eye throughout last campaign for his fantastic goalscoring exploits for the Blues' U18s, even earning call-ups to David Unsworth's U23s setup on occasion.
Next season, the youngster will be working full-time with the U23s side after the boss confirmed to the ECHO Simms had signed a new contract and permanently made the step up.
The powerful forward scored an incredible 46 goals in all competitions last term, which got a lot of Everton fans talking about his potential.
The youngster was also linked recently with a potential move to Germany, but the Blues have moved quickly to tie down the talented goalscorer.
And the striker is delighted to have been able to put pen-to-paper on a deal which will keep him at the club he joined as a 16-year-old.
"It means a lot to me to sign this contract," Simms told evertonfc.com.
"It’s what I’ve been aiming to do since I was a kid – sign my first professional deal – so I’m really happy.
"My target now is to just keep going, keep scoring goals and keep working on the areas of my game that I need to work on, and keep progressing.
"Hopefully I can continue to do that at the next step, which is the Under-23s. It’s going to be quite hard to top the season they’ve just had but hopefully I can play my part and ensure there’s more good things to come.
"Seeing the pathway from the academy through to the first team shows that this club can progress players.
"You know if you keep doing the right things you will get a chance, then it’s down to you to take it."
