LONG READ
READY TO GO
By Mike Taylor
YOUSSEF CHERMITI sits down with the Official Matchday Programme to discuss a series of sliding doors moments that led to his arrival at Everton, why he feels like he has an ‘uncle’ and ‘brother’ in the current Blues squad, improving behind the scenes during a frustrating season, and how he is laser-focused on making an impact before the end of the campaign…
Amidst months of frustration, Youssef Chermiti has been toiling behind the scenes to ensure this campaign would not be one to pass him by.
After a promising pre-season, including a well-taken brace against Sligo Rovers, a freak training ground clash with the 2024/25 Premier League opener a matter of days away saw Everton’s No.17 require surgery to repair a tendon in his foot.
As he closed in on full fitness after that setback, a thigh injury further delayed his return, which eventually came in the form of an eye-catching cameo in the 1-1 draw with West Ham United last time out at Goodison Park.
The flashes of technical excellence that Chermiti displayed at the tail end of 2023/24 were immediately back on show, but the Portugal Under-21 international’s impressive physicality, perhaps, caught some fans and pundits off guard.
While absent from full training, Chermiti had been labouring to make improvements on his frame, working under the guidance of the Club’s Medical and Sport Science departments – most closely with Carl Howarth (Men’s Senior Team Physiotherapist) and Chris Wilding
(Men’s Senior Team Physical Performance Coach).
“This season has been…” Chermiti blows out his cheeks, his English is now as good as fluent, but he struggles to find the words to sum up his frustration. “The people at the Club have been really good for me, though. Carl has been really good helping me every day with recovering from the injuries and Chris has helped me a lot in the gym to be better physically. Of course, I had to work on my rehab from the two injuries but I’ve managed to work on some parts of my body to get fitter, stronger. I need to thank them, because it’s helped me, 100 per cent.
“I have put on around three kilos of muscle. That really helps in the Premier League. I know that coming up against Tarky [James Tarkowski] every day in training. He’s a mountain. All Premier League defenders are big and physical, so you need to be ready.
“Getting on against West Ham felt really great after the time out. There were a lot of emotions, to be honest.
"I had been out for months, I was fasting [for Ramadan], and just the moment in the game when we were chasing to get something from it and we did in the end. It was a really good feeling. I got home and just thanked God to be back, you know.”
Chermiti’s journey to this point is a fascinating one – and even more remarkable considering he is still only 20 years old.
Born in Porto, mainland Portugal, the Chermiti family moved to Vila do Porto on Santa Maria, one of the nine volcanic islands that makes up the Azores in the North Atlantic Ocean, when Youssef was a toddler.
The Everton striker’s memories of that relocation to the Azores’ ‘mother island’, which was enforced due to his dad’s work in the country’s airports, are hazy but it was here where he was first exposed to sports.
“I don’t remember too much from back then but I know I was playing everything,” recalls Chermiti. “I think I was playing five sports but football and basketball were the two I played most. My two older sisters both really liked basketball, too, so they were an
influence on me.
“It was quiet where I lived on the Azores, compared to the cities like Lisbon or Porto. As I got a little older, I played football more and more – on the streets with my friends and neighbours and then we had a synthetic pitch where my local team played.”
On Santa Maria, a small island of approximately 100,000 people, Chermiti played for his local side, who pitted their wits against three other teams in the area before a trip to the neighbouring São Miguel island – a four-hour boat ride away – to take part in a tournament founded by Portugal legend Pauleta would prove fateful.
It was here – at Fundação Pauleta – that Chermiti’s precocious talent was first spotted.
“After that tournament, I would fly across to Pauleta’s Academy every fortnight to play against different teams,” he explains. “I knew then that I had some talent but nothing was guaranteed, I had to work hard at it.”
Catching the eye of one of Portugal’s ‘big three’ – Porto, Benfica and Sporting CP – is the dream for any youngster playing at grassroots level, and one that would soon become a reality for Chermiti, aged 11.
There was, however, one significant hurdle to clear first.
“I have put on around three kilos of muscle... All Premier League defenders are big and physical, so you need to be ready."
“I remember one day my father said, ‘Come on, we’re going to Lisbon’, but I had no idea why,” says Chermiti. “It was just me and him and I thought it was just for a visit. We arrived and he took me to the academy at Sporting for some tests. I was due to be there with him for a week and a half, basically on trial, but then in the middle of the
first week they called my father in and showed him the facilities.
“It’s very different in Portugal [compared to England]. For a lot of players in the academy, you stay on site all day, every day – doing just school and football. I knew when they showed him around that I had a chance of being taken on.
“Then the offer came. It was December 2017 at this point and I was expecting if it did come that it would mean moving over ahead of the next season but, no, they wanted me to join in two weeks’ time. Immediately, I said, ‘yes’, and my father was happy if I was happy but I knew I had to get it past my mum.
“We flew home. I told my mum the news and immediately she said, ‘No chance’… But, luckily for me, for big decisions in our family, we would do a family vote. I voted yes to go, my father voted yes, my mother voted no and my eldest sister also voted no, then, thankfully, my middle sister voted yes, so I was in the clear!”
It was a huge step for 11-year-old Chermiti, but moving to Lisbon at such a tender age, in his eyes, was a small price to pay to be joining one of the world’s most successful academies.
"Honestly, now, when people ask me where I’m from, I say Lisbon – I feel like I’m from Lisbon,” he says. “But, of course, it was very difficult in the beginning. When I moved, the first three months were hard, really hard. I was crying every day. I was missing my mum, my family, my friends, everything.”
"Right now, I think [Beto and I] are both better for those tough times. It feels like everyone in the squad is happy at the moment. Good vibes, you know? I think the new manager has created that environment."
Youssef Chermiti
Eventually, Chermiti became accustomed to his new life on the site of Sporting CP’s academy, forming a close friendship with Mateus Fernandes – now of Southampton – which helped the process.
Something of an epiphany moment came aged 14, with Chermiti refocusing efforts to maximise his potential and make it to the top of the game.
Momentum grew exponentially from then. Chermiti flew through the ranks, into the ‘B’ team and quickly into Sporting’s senior set-up.
By the summer of 2023, Chermiti had 16 Liga Portugal appearances – mostly as a substitute – and five goal contributions under his belt and was readying himself to make his mark as a first-team regular.
However, a chance meeting with soon-to-be teammate Beto and a sudden move to Everton changed all of his plans.
“In that summer, I was feeling so confident that it was going to be my season with Sporting,” explains Chermiti. “I changed my squad number, I was preparing well... As it happens, I remember around that time I was eating in a restaurant in Lisbon and I met Beto for the very first time.
“We had a normal conversation. We knew of each other but it was the first time we met and he told me, ‘Keep going, kid, you’ve been doing well’, and I thanked him and that was that.
“Then, literally one month later, we’d both signed for Everton. It was crazy!
“Playing in the Premier League was always my dream but I really didn’t expect it to come this soon, in my mind I thought it would happen a bit later in my career.”
“Perhaps naturally, Chermiti’s closest friend in the current Blues squad is compatriot Beto.
“We are super, super close,” he smiles. “The first time we saw each other here at Everton – after that meeting in the restaurant – we were laughing about how things work out.
“He has family from Guinea-Bissau and my mother is from Guinea-Bissau, too. We found out that my family over there lives literally in the same neighbourhood as his family!
“So, yeah, he’s very much like a brother to me.
“We’ve each had tough moments since we arrived, either with injuries or being out of the team, but he’s kept me going and I hope I have helped him, too.
“Right now, I think we are both better for those tough times. It feels like everyone in the squad is happy at the moment. Good vibes, you know? I think the new manager has created that environment. We are living in the moment and working to keep it going.”
Captain Seamus Coleman has been another big influence on Chermiti, since his arrival on Merseyside.
“If Beto is like a brother, Seamus is like my uncle,” he insists. “I speak with him every single day and he’s always trying to help me, advise me, push me to be my best.
“I enjoy the relationship we have because maybe we get upset with each other at times but it’s because Official Matchday Programme he wants the best out of me. He really believes in me and my future. I have to thank him for everything.
“It goes to show what he’s like even this season, when I’ve been injured, he speaks to me every day about how I’m feeling and about my family and that sort of thing. It’s not just football, but life as well. He’s a top captain.”
Now back in the fold and fighting for a place in David Moyes’ starting line-up, Chermiti remains impressively level-headed.
“I wouldn’t say I’m in a ‘good moment’, he insists. “I am happy to be fit again and happy to be fighting for my place. I’m hungry to make my mark and contribute to the team, for sure.
“I’m not thinking too much about anything other than my performances each day. I don’t want to think about next season, or further into the future, I’m focusing on right now and I want to show my abilities.”
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