“I believe everything happens for a purpose,” says a philosophical Youssef Chermiti as he gears up for his return to first-team action. “If God wants it like that, I just have to respect and accept it.”
Chermiti has been through some tough moments already at Everton. Signed in the summer of 2023 from his boyhood club Sporting CP, the promising 20-year-old striker seemed set to make a significant stride forward when misfortune struck this July.
Playing a game of 10 vs 10 in training, Chermiti suffered a bang on his big toe. He tried to continue but a scan later in the day told him he had damaged ligaments and faced a sustained spell on the sidelines. Surgery followed in London and in took until early December for Chermiti to return to action for Everton’s under-21 side.
“It’s tough because you can’t do what you like to do,” he tells The Athletic. “Football is the best thing in my life and if I’m not allowed to do it, it’s sad. My family, friends, everybody at the club helped me and asked how I was feeling. I don’t want to remember it.
“For the first month and a half, I couldn’t go to the stadium to watch games because there was the possibility it could get infected. So I just stayed at home and watched the games on the TV. It was frustrating. Difficult, sad, because I finished the season well and was getting confident. That’s football.”
Everton fans have been eagerly awaiting Chermiti’s return — not just because he strengthens a profligate attack that has scored the second-fewest goals in the league this season under manager Sean Dyche, but because of his promising cameos towards the end of the previous campaign.
Chermit impressed in pre-season before his injury (Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images)
The initial €12.5m fee (£10.4m; $13m in today’s money) paid to bring him in from Sporting was not inconsiderable, particularly for a club that has been counting pennies in recent seasons.
Yet Everton believe in Chermiti’s potential. They knew he had been tracked by some of Europe’s elite and, unable to buy a top No 9 of their own, decided to try and develop one. Chermiti is the first attempt at doing so and is seen as a potential long-term solution.
Still, the first 18 months of Chermiti’s time on Merseyside have been far from easy. A regular in Sporting’s senior squad as a teenager, he made just one start and played 196 minutes of Premier League football for Everton last season. He expected to play more. A return to fitness means he is motivated to play more minutes this time as the club looks to build on the positivity created by the takeover of the Friedkin Group.
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There is also the sense that he is still adapting to a new country and style of play.
Until recently, everything happened on fast-forward mode for the Portugal Under-21 international. He made his first-team debut for Sporting only in January 2023, under now Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim, appearing as a late substitute against rivals Benfica. With just 22 senior appearances, in which he scored three goals, under his belt, he was sold — unexpectedly, he says — to Everton at the end of that season.
“Everything was really quick because I played six months with the first team at Sporting, I was adapting and then I moved to Everton,” he says.
“Last season was going to be my time to prove myself. I changed my (shirt) number and the club (Sporting) told me I would get more minutes. I stopped playing and nobody told me, but I saw on Instagram that people had written about a transfer to Everton.
“After, I spoke to the club and everything was really quick.”
Chermiti in his Sporting days (Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)
Everton had to fend off interest from other Premier League clubs, some of whom the 6ft 4in (193cm) forward claims tried to hijack the deal, to secure his services.
But chats with director of football Kevin Thelwell and manager Sean Dyche convinced him to choose Goodison Park over other destinations.
“When we were talking with Everton, we got more calls from clubs in England,” he says. “Wolverhampton (Wanderers), Newcastle (United). A lot of clubs.
“But Kevin (Thelwell) was phoning me every day saying: ‘Come to Everton as you will play and I will find you a good place.’ I liked the project. When you’re undecided, it’s good when the manager and director speak to explain it to you.
“It was tough to leave my country and my family. Everything was near to me — my friends and family. My family are still in Portugal. And everything moved quickly with Everton.”
Nearly 18 months on, Chermiti has settled in England. He lives in nearby Manchester and is close to fellow Portuguese striker Beto, whom he met in Lisbon the summer they joined. “He came over and gave me support, told me I was doing well and to keep pushing.
“It’s great. Straight after I joined, (former Everton player) Andre (Gomes) came over and said: ‘If you need something, I’m here — enjoy this massive club.’
“England has been good for me. It’s a different life — the first time outside of my country and I’m far from my family and friends. I will never be 100 per cent like an English player, but I like England and have friends here now.”
The only thing missing at this stage is the little slice of home. Born in Portugal and raised by African parents — his mum hails from Guinea-Bissau and his dad from Tunisia – he has not yet found somewhere, other than Nando’s, that does proper Portuguese-style food. “Nando’s is good,” he says with a smile. “For English people, Nando’s is amazing. But it’s normal food in Portugal.”
Chermiti has been capped by Portugal from under-15 to under-21 level (Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)
Chermiti’s backstory is worth touching on. Born in Porto, as a child he moved to the Azores, an archipelago in the mid-Atlantic, because of his father, Noureddine.
A talented footballer and basketball player, the lack of youth leagues in the Azores meant Chermiti was forced to travel to other islands to play regularly.
Every fortnight, he would go to nearby San Miguel to play football, and it was there that he was spotted by the Pauleta Academy, run by the Portugal and Paris Saint-Germain legend of the same name. Within two years, he was in Sporting’s academy.
“There are big differences,” he says, between English and Portuguese football. “Here, the football is quicker and more physical and, of course, the Premier League is the best in the world.
“It wasn’t (a surprise) because I played in Portugal and the Europa League, so I didn’t feel the difference. But it’s definitely quicker.”
He has shown there are multiple strings to his at Everton. Tall enough to hold up the ball, he also possesses the speed to run in behind and the technical ability to link play.
Growing up, he idolised Cristiano Ronaldo, but the player he looks up to most now is Rafa Leao of Milan and Portugal. “He’s my friend and I like the way he plays — he’s amazing.”
Chermiti signed for Everton in the summer of 2023 (Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)
“More recently, I like to watch (Alexander) Isak (of Newcastle),” Chermiti says. “I used to watch videos of Didier Drogba, Romelu Lukaku — yes, when he was at Everton — and Erling Haaland. I like to watch different kinds of strikers because some are more for the box and others like to be outside and play.
“I can extend the line, run beyond. But I can do both. I can also play with my team-mates as I’m a creative player.
“If I play with him, Beto is more for the box so I can be deeper than him. If I play with Dom (Calvert-Lewin) then we can change because we’re more similar.”
The aim this season, now he is fit, is to push on and play more regularly. The summer setback delayed his progress, but Chermiti is eager to show what he can do.
After impressing Dyche before his injury in pre-season, he scored in a recent behind-closed-doors friendly against League One Mansfield Town and was an unused substitute in the draws with Chelsea and Manchester City.
“Last season was a mix of emotions,” he says. “I wasn’t playing as I expected but I finished the season well. When you don’t play as much as expected, the first target is just to get more minutes. After that, when you’re more confident, it’s about scoring goals.”
The next couple of months feel important for Chermiti, wherever he might be. There has been talk over a potential loan, with Everton having three other senior strikers in Calvert-Lewin, Beto and Armando Broja. Most important for him is that he has regular minutes to continue his development.
“We haven’t spoken about my future yet, so I don’t know,” he says. “We’ll see what happens in January. I’m ready to play again. My target is still the same — get more minutes, score goals and make the Toffees happy.”
After his summer setback, Chermiti is ready to make up for lost time.
(Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)
