Following the loan signing of Everton youngster Nathan Broadhead, we caught up with Toffees fans from the Unholy Trinity Everton Podcast, who gave us the lowdown on Broadhead.
Nathan Broadhead will be an unknown quantity for Sunderland fans. What will he bring to the team?
He's had a little first team experience, with many getting a decent look at him during the pre-season, especially on our trip to Florida. He's got a decent goal scoring record at U23 level and was certainly an exciting talent as he came through the younger age groups. He's played in a variety of attacking positions growing up. He impressed throughout, with his pace and energy evident. He will want to impress and develop, so expect to see his eagerness shine through.
What are his strengths and weaknesses?
As mentioned, he's got pace which is a great asset at any level. Again, his scoring record is decent, so he certainly has an eye for goal. It's time now for him to focus on the one position, after being exposed to numerous positions as he has come through the ranks at Everton. His lack of exposure to first team football is potentially a weakness, which is hopefully addressed quickly, as he has the attributes to do well at Championship or League One level.
He made his debut in the 2017 Europa League, but hasn’t featured much since then. What’s kept Broadhead out of the senior team?
His appearance in Europe coincided with the us already being knocked out, so a fair few youngsters travelled and featured during the game. Obviously, he had a loan spell at Burton but nothing since. The question really is why hasn't he been loaned out again to learn his craft? Maybe we have done him a disservice. This is something the club need to be better at. Keeping lads in their early 20s to play solely U23 football doesn't help the player.
We’ve already got Ross Stewart up front who’s had an impressive start to the season, as well as McGeady and Gooch out wide. Does Broadhead have the quality needed to break into our first team, or will he be a bench option?
You'd like to think your manager thinks he has the quality to be starting matches, as I'm sure he hasn't been brought in to sit on the bench. Everton will surely have also had some assurances about that. I feel he certainly has the attributes and quality to be playing regularly for Sunderland. He's worked with quality players at Everton, so will have learnt a lot, even just in training. I can see him being a real asset this season.
After this loan spell, can you see a pathway for the youngster to break into Everton’s team?
Personally, I feel Nathan will move on permanently, either during his loan or at the end of the season. He was given a new 2 year deal this summer, which I think is the club protecting their position. He's 23 now, so I feel if he was going to make it at Everton, we would have seen more of him. Obviously in an ideal world, he develops and comes back to the first team squad. I'm not sure if that's the idea the club has, but everyone certainly wishes him the best of luck.
