Everton believe it is too soon to start Tyler Onyango in the Premier League, according to The Athletic's Greg O'Keeffe.

The lowdown

O'Keeffe's colleague Patrick Boyland considered the possibility that first team opportunities would arise for the young midfielder in the wake of Abdoulaye Doucoure's injury. He is said to boast a similar profile to the Frenchman and has been described as a 'machine' by his former under-18 coach Paul Tait.

He has only previously made one senior appearance for the Blues, and that came as a late substitute in the FA Cup fourth round meeting with Sheffield Wednesday last season.

Toffees assistant manager Duncan Ferguson is thought to be an advocate of Onyango, but Rafael Benitez has overlooked him for each matchday squad since the 18-year-old returned from his own injury lay-off.

The latest

Ahead of Everton's clash with Tottenham on Sunday, a Toffees supporter suggested in a Q&A for The Athletic that Benitez should try a midfield three of Onyango, Fabian Delph and Allan.

However, O'Keeffe responded to that claim by saying: "The feeling is that Onyango isn't ready yet."

The verdict

It may not simply be a question of ability. Indeed, the 18-year-old's comeback performance against Leeds United under-23s on 18 October was adjudged to be of a Premier League standard.

Onyango's recent injury sidelined him for six months, so perhaps there are lingering physical concerns less a month on from his return. Also, as explained above, he has just one senior appearance to his name, so it could be risky to throw him in at the deep end of top-flight football, especially with Everton taking just two points from their last five matches.

Benitez instead looked to Delph against Spurs, handing him a first league start of the season. The former Aston Villa player justified his manager's faith, winning the club's man of the match award.

In other news, some Everton fans slammed this man's performance against Spurs