David Moyes says Adam Aznou is ‘not quite ready” to play first-team football yet | OneFootball

David Moyes thinks Adam Aznou is "not quite ready" for first-team football yet but hopes that the youngster will “grow” during his time at Everton.

Signed from Bayern Munich this summer, Aznou is yet to make his official debut for the club.

The 19-year-old Moroccan international who came up through Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy has had a tricky start to his career with the Blues. He was out injured during the initial few weeks, while left-back mainstay Vitalii Mykolenko was also on the sidelines.

However, even after returning from injury, Aznou has failed to enter David Moyes’s plans and is yet to play a single minute of first-team football. Moyes has even played James Garner and Seamus Coleman out of position instead of Aznou.

Talking about the teenager, Moyes said that his decision is not a reflection of Aznou’s ability, calling him a “talented player.” However, the manager also stressed the fact that Aznou needs to work on his “physicality.”

"He’s a young, talented player with a lot of potential. Left-backs are not easy to get and we’ve brought in a young player who we hope will grow in his time at Everton,” said Moyes.

Asked what Aznou needed to do in order to gain more responsibility, he said: “First of all, I want him to be with us, and I want him to train and get used to him.

“He's a really good footballer, a nice footballer. He's just got a bit of building up to do, a bit of physicality to get, so we'll do that and we'll see how he develops, but his footballing ability - he's a good player.”

While Moyes maintains that Aznou’s level surpasses the need for academy football, he hasn’t ruled out playing the youngster in some games for the U21s in order to build his physical abilities and match fitness.

“He's above that level, but it doesn't mean that he might need to get a few games - if we're struggling to get him game time, we might need to use him [in the U21s] at different times.

“But we'll monitor that as we go along, but he’s not quite ready to be playing for the first team at the moment.”

Pat Kelly 3 Posted 27/09/2025 at 19:26:33

Sounds like he has a long way to go to be up to PL standard. Just like Barry. Dibling probably needs time too. And Rohl is already adding to his injury record.

4 Posted 27/09/2025 at 19:37:09

Loads of ability, just not physically strong enough. What exactly will they try and do, to get around this issue?

Young kids have got to play football, to aid their development, so it sounds like Aznou, is currently in quite a precarious position.