Everton youngster Francis Okoronkwo has detailed how he spent a lot of this season learning from Tom Cannon to improve his game.

Cannon, a Republic of Ireland international, is on loan for the rest of the season at Preston.

That means Okoronkwo will have to step up, and he believes that he can take on that burden having improved his game in the first half of the campaign.

“For the first six months of the season, it was all about learning and looking at what Tom does, because he's a fantastic striker," he told evertonfc.com.

“We knew he was close to being ready to play men's football, so for me, it was learning about what he does well and then trying to add that to my game.

“The loan move is a fantastic move for him because it's what he needs and I think it also gives me that opportunity to have more starts, more game time and to improve myself. My ambition now is to be that focal point for the Under-21s, to be the No.9 that all the players can rely on.

“I want to play more minutes, score more, keep adding assists and hopefully towards the end of the season, have a few sessions with the First Team to get a taste for what that's like in the coming years.

“You can see there's a pathway to the senior squad. If you look at the lads who've been in and around it this season, they have all been really consistent and worked hard to do all they can to be professional footballers and play in the first team.

“To me, that shows when you put that work in, you will get your rewards, you just need to stay consistent with it and keep chipping away."