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Moise Kean has apologised to Marco Silva and the Everton players after being late for a team meeting ahead of the game with Southampton.

And the ECHO understands that Kean's breach of club rules was the reason he was dropped from the matchday 18 for the weekend's match at St Mary's.

It is believed this was the second time Kean had been late for a team meeting since joining from Juventus in the summer and so the Blues boss decided to take action.

The 19-year-old travelled to the south coast with the Everton squad but would be left out of the matchday set-up.

Kean has said sorry to both Silva and the rest of the squad and the matter is now believed to have been dealt with.

When asked why he had omitted the £25m forward on Saturday, the Everton boss, perhaps trying to protect the striker, suggested it was a tactical call, saying: "A decision, just decision."

Kean has also been punished by Italian boss Roberto Mancini who did not pick him for the senior squad for Euro 2020 qualifiers at the start of September because the striker, and Roma's Nicolo Zaniolo, were both late for team meeting in the under-21s European Championships during the summer.