Everton U21's in inaugural Premier League International Cup

Everton Under-21s will take part in the inaugural Premier League International Cup this season.



Launched on Wednesday, the four-group tournament involves Premier League sides with Category One academies as well as elite development teams from other European leagues.

The young Blues have been drawn in Group D alongside Celtic, Sunderland and Villareal, with all competition fixtures to be played in England and announced in due course.

Other international clubs taking part are Athletic Club Bilbao, Benfica, Borussia Monchengladbach, Schalke, Porto and PSV Eindhoven.

Under-21 coach David Unsworth was delighted his side received an invitation to take part and told evertonfc.com: "It's very exciting to be involved in this prestigious tournament. We're really looking forward to pitting our wits against some of the best sides here and overseas.

"We're obviously well aware of Sunderland - they're a good team who are very solid and have a good crop of young players.

"Celtic will be a different proposition. They're the big club in Scotland at the moment and have some terrific talent. It'll be a fixture with added spice which is something new for the lads.

"And then there's the glamour game against Villareal. They'll be formidable opponents. It's a dream tie in many ways.

"We're really looking forward to it. The players are all buzzing and we want to go as far as we can. We aim to win every competition we enter so it'll be a nice addition to the normal programme."

The winners and runners-up from each group will progress to a knockout stage with rounds decided by one leg apiece.

Keep an eye on evertonfc.com for fixture details.