Record-breaking teen sensation shares his reason for joining Everton

Teenage striker Braiden Graham said experiencing Goodison Park’s famous atmosphere was a major factor in his decision to switch to Everton.

The 16-year-old is expected to link up with the Blues next month when his planned move from Linfield is formally completed. He will join the club’s academy set-up having already experienced senior football - Graham became the youngest first-team footballer for the side from Northern Ireland just over a year ago.

He then continued his development last season, becoming a regular for the Irish Premiership runners-up.

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Everton began their courtship of the starlet well before last season, however. He was a guest at Goodison on the final day of the 2022/23 season, when Abdoulaye Doucoure sparked celebrations heard across the Mersey as he scored the goal that secured the win over Bournemouth required for the club to confirm Premier League survival.

Just weeks earlier, Graham had made his senior debut at Linfield as a substitute against Dungannon Swifts. He was just 15 years and 137 days old. Of the impression Everton made on him, Graham told the Belfast Telegraph: “The whole feeling around the club made me think it was perfect for me. I felt there was a good pathway at Everton for me. It just felt right. I was at Goodison Park on the final day of that season and Everton beat Bournemouth 1-0 to stay up. Watching that game, I was like, ‘I want to play here’.”

Graham is expected to link up with the club’s Under-18s when he arrives at Finch Farm and he hopes to experience Goodison as a player during its final season before the club moves to its new waterfront home. The prospect of being part of that move also entices him - a feeling echoed by the first confirmed signing of Everton’s summer, Tim Iroegbunam, this weekend.

Graham said: “My aim this season is to play at Goodison in the Youth Cup and then, the season after, go and play at the new stadium. I want to settle in as quickly as possible in the Under-18s, push on and try and get into the Under-21s and make the first-team as soon as I can. I watch all Premier League games. The dream is to play in the Premier League. I’ve had that dream since I was young, and that’s my goal.”

While the youngster, who scored his first senior goal for the club in a cup match against Larne in December, may be some way from reaching that ambition he has an attitude manager Sean Dyche is sure to love. Revealing the biggest lesson of his time at Linfield, he said: “I learnt so much at the club, and one of the biggest things was to train how you play. Give 100% in every session, and then you’ll do the same when you are in games. I play every game like it’s my last.”