Everton academy chief David Unsworth has hailed the progress of Jarrad Branthwaite.
The centre-back started in the League Cup tie against Salford City earlier this season, but injured his ankle in the first half and has been ruled out of first team action since then.
The defender played the full 90 minutes in Everton U23s' 2-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday, however, and manager Unsworth has been delighted with the progress the youngster is displaying.
He told the Liverpool Echo: "He looks great on the ball, he defends properly, he's a presence and he certainly looked like a young first team player stepping down.
"His development has been astronomical since joining. He was a little nervous at first and we had to give him a bit of time to settle and he played in a few games.
"But then he got an early opportunity. We say to these boys all the time that they've got to be ready and when that opportunity comes you've got to take it.
"Jarrad took it last season. He was unfortunate with his injury, but he's been training with the first team now for three or four weeks and that was a much-needed 90 minutes [vs Chelsea].
"That can be the bedrock of his season now, that performance, to step in."
