Everton midfielder Isaac Price departing the Premier League club at the end of the season is a "real shame", according to journalist Joe Thomas.
Is Isaac Price leaving Everton?
Price is an academy product on Merseyside having worked his way up through the ranks to become a regular feature of the U21s, but during his time at the club, he’s only ever made three senior appearances and is yet to be given the chance to showcase his talent under Sean Dyche.
Therefore, with the 19-year-old’s contract set to expire at the end of the season, he’s expected to head for the exit door and begin a new chapter of his career.
The Athletic have reported that the Toffees starlet has agreed a four-year deal to join Standard Liege over in Belgium, and whilst the Blues did make numerous attempts to retain his services, it’s claimed that he wanted to move elsewhere to get regular game time and minutes under his belt.
Taking to Twitter, Thomas reacted to the news that Price will be imminently moving on from Everton and was gutted that he couldn't have been given more of a first-team opportunity to prove to Dyche what he is capable of. He wrote:
"A real shame to see Isaac Price leave Everton. Came back well after a difficult summer + excelled in Australia. One of the many shames of Everton’s recent struggles has been the lack of pressure-free minutes to give some of the youngsters a genuine chance."
Should Everton have given Price more of a chance?
Everton being deep in a tough relegation battle for so many weeks understandably makes it difficult for Dyche to integrate academy players into the team when he will want his strongest XI out on the pitch, but having been hailed “terrific” by the club’s former youth coach David Unsworth, you could say that Price deserved an opportunity to shine earlier in the season.
The central midfielder, who currently earns £1.1k-per-week, has clocked up seven goal contributions (four goals and three assists) in 28 appearances across all competitions since the start of the campaign and has also been excelling on the international stage having represented Northern Ireland at the UEFA European Qualifiers earlier this year.
Finally, Price would have provided the manager with wonderful versatility having operated in six various positions since first bursting onto the professional scene, including everywhere across the centre and even at the heart of the defence, but the club are now set to miss out on the luxury of having that available to them when he heads overseas.