On the day of the derby, Jarrad Branthwaite will still be six days shy of his 18th birthday.
But should he play against Liverpool, at a near-deserted Goodison a week tomorrow, then he will not be the youngest Everton player to have faced Liverpool, he'll just be one of them.
Wayne Rooney was 17 years and 59 days old when he faced the Reds at Anfield in December 2002 while Michael Ball (17 years and 196 days) and Richard Dunne (17 years and 207 days) were slightly older when they both played at Goodison under the caretaker stint of Dave Watson.
For those of you who may need a little refresher on Branthwaite, here goes.
The teenager was signed, to little fanfare, on a Monday evening in January from League Two side Carlisle United.
Branthwaite, a 6'1" centre-half, signed a two-and-a-half-year deal after Everton agreed a £750,000 deal with his hometown club.
Up until the suspension of games in March, he had played for the under-23s but been part of first-team training sessions under Carlo Ancelotti and, in February, took part in a behind-closed-doors friendly arranged to speed up Andre Gomes' return.
Ancelotti had invited Branthwaite to training in order to "have a look" at him.
And where Branthwaite's u-23s team-mates have remained training from home, after the Premier League 2 season was cancelled, the young defender has returned to Finch Farm to continue working with the senior players.
But here is where it gets really interesting. Or at least it has the potential to.
Branthwaite currently finds himself third in the pecking order of centre-halves. Yes, third.
A torn thigh muscle means Yerry Mina is unlikely to play again until next month while Lewis Gibson, who looks set to extend his loan move with Fleetwood Town, would be ineligible to play for Everton.
It leaves Ancelotti with Mason Holgate and Michael Keane as his only fit, senior, centre-halves - and Branthwaite, as a young alternative.
Everton have two options at right-back, and the same at left-back, plus Cuco Martina who can play on either side if required.
The next five or six days should tell us more but Branthwaite is in with a hell of a chance of being named in the matchday squad for the 236th Merseyside derby, especially as managers are permitted to name a squad of 19.
The idea that the teenager is even in with a sniff of being part of the set-up for the Goodison derby, so soon after joining the club and having yet made his debut in a top flight game, would be head-spinning for most but he is said to be laid-back about the situation and, simply, enjoying the chance to train under Ancelotti everyday.
Everton's boss has been an encouraging influence so far, it is believed, and the young defender, with only 15 games for Carlisle United's first-team, is confident he will be ready if a golden opportunity comes his way.
Ancelotti would prefer not to have to consider throwing a still raw Branthwaite into the importance of a Merseyside derby, with such little preparation behind him, but the scenario is not beyond the realms of possibility when you consider Everton's rotten luck with injuries this season.
Everton could include Niasse, Martina and Baningime for Liverpool game
Fingers crossed it won't, but should injury hit Holgate or Keane between now and next weekend, or even during the game, then what would the Blues boss do?
Bring one of the squad's replacement full-backs on, and favour experience? Would he go to a back three and add an extra body to midfield? Or would he stick with his preferred 4-4-2 formation and bring on Branthwaite, if he's made the squad?
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Either way, as the Premier League prepares to resume and the derby awaits, he's in the shake-up which is in keeping with how football has been turned on its head in recent times.
But unprecedented? No, just ask Bally and Richard Dunne about 17-year-old defenders in the derby.
