3/1 To Win
Derby County manager Wayne Rooney added Everton midfielder Beni Baningime to his Derby County squad on loan for the remainder of the 2020/21 season on Deadline Day this week.
The 22-year-old will provide healthy competition in midfield for the Rams as he links up with his former Toffees team-mate Rooney.
Here is a little more information about the midfielder…
EARLY YEARS
Born in Congo, Baningime is product of the Everton Academy after joining the club at the age of nine. He has risen through the ranks at Goodison Park and has starred in every age group. Insiders have always talked about Baningime’s talents from a young age.
The midfielder played his first minutes for the club in the 2015/16 Under-21 Premier League campaign as he appeared as an 18-year-old in a victory over Norwich City.
The following season was a breakthrough for Baningime as he featured across three competitions for Everton’s Academy.
He played in the inaugural EFL Trophy where Under-21 teams were allowed in the competition, playing three times against league opposition. He featured in every minute of Everton’s three games against Bolton Wanderers, Cheltenham Town and Blackpool.
He also featured for Everton’s Under-18s, scoring two goals in seven appearances, whilst he stepped up his minutes for the Under-23s, playing 11 times.
Baningime played a huge part as David Unsworth’s Under-23s side lifted the Premier League Under-23s title that season.
COMPETITIVE ACTION
At the start of the 2017/18 season, Baningime found himself in and around the first team alongside Rooney.
The record goalscorer for Manchester United and England returned to the Toffees for a season and lined up with Baningime for his competitive debut in an EFL Cup tie against Chelsea.
His Under-23s boss Unsworth gave the youngster his debut and Baningime played the full 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge as Everton lost 2-1. He made his Premier League debut four days later in a 2-0 defeat against Leicester City.
He also featured in the Europa League that season, featuring against Lyon, Atlanta and Apollon Limassol.
At the end of the campaign, he played the final 11 minutes in a Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park as Liverpool and Everton played out a goalless draw.
The following season, he found opportunities with the Everton first-team limited following the arrival of Marco Silva as boss and went out on loan to Wigan Athletic for the second half of the 2018/19 campaign.
He played under Paul Cook and alongside Nathan Byrne as the Latics finished 18th in the Sky Bet Championship.
The midfielder only played one game, however, in a 2-2 draw against Rotherham United at the New York Stadium.
Baningime returned to Goodison Park and was a regular for the Under-23s during the 2019/20 campaign before the season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In total, the midfielder has made 80 appearances for Everton across first team, Under-23 and Under-18 fixtures.
