Teenage midfielder Stanley Mills has signed a first professional contract with Everton, penning a two-year deal until the end of June 2023.

Mills, 17, has been rewarded with a new contract having made significant strides since joining Everton Academy as a 14-year-old.

A quick, intelligent and composed midfield player, Mills has also shown impressive resilience and determination to battle back from a serious knee injury to establish himself as an important player for Everton Under-18s.

Mills featured regularly for Paul Tait’s team in 2020/21 and helped Everton reach the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals, where he scored a fine goal in the young Blues’ narrow defeat to West Bromwich Albion.

Mills made the step-up to Everton’s Under-23s team towards the end of the season and marked his debut at that level with a stunning strike in a 5-0 win at Southampton in May.