Sign up for the big Everton stories from a fantastic season so far Get the newsletter Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

The scout who discovered Tom Davies at the age of six has spoken of his dream to one day see the teenager captain Everton.

Paul Judic spotted the future Blues midfielder playing for a junior team in West Derby after his parents brought him along to join in with coaching sessions.

Toffees scout Paul revealed how he immediately took note of Davies' potential, and ultimately begged the club to give him a chance.

He said: "The way Tom's attitude is and how hard he works, he can go as far as he wants.

"I don't want to put too much pressure on his shoulders, but for me, the perfect story would be for Tom to be playing in an Everton side with other academy graduates and become an integral part of a successful team.

"To see him captain Everton would be an absolute dream come true and to see him pull on a senior England shirt too."

(Image: (Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images))

Davies, who turns 19 later this month, had been taken to the Fur and Feathers Junior club by his parents Tony and Diane. They asked Paul if he could join in with drills alongside his older other Liam, who now plays for Chester.

"He did some ball work and drills and at the end of the session I said to Diane, 'Your Liam is fantastic you know, but I think your Tom could be as good, if not better," recalls Judic.

"We used to have possession matches on three different pitches. I'd be on one, Tony (Tom's dad who helped with the coaching) would be on another and Tom was that good that he'd basically take the middle pitch from the age of seven or eight upwards.

"He was that good.

"His awareness of the game at such a young age was probably what stood out most but also his passing ability, the fact he could come up with the odd cracking goal - his all-round game was just fantastic.

"But just as good was his ability to listen and his attitude."

Paul made it a priority to get Tom playing in front of the decision-makers at Everton's academy. But initially he failed to sparkle.

"I had Tom in for a few trials at Everton and he didn't quite stand out as much as I expected him to," he said. "It was obviously very disappointing at the time but he went on to sign for Tranmere instead and I was pleased for him.

"Some months later I was watching Liverpool Boys as part of my scouting for Everton and Tom was playing. He was the best player on the pitch, absolutely outstanding. I rang Martin Waldron, who was in charge of youth recruitment at Everton, and basically begged him. I told him: "We have to sign this lad".

"Martin came down to watch him a week later and, thankfully, he agreed with me.

"After a few years of banging the Tom Davies drum to the club and knowing how strong that age group (Kieran Dowell and Liam Walsh were already on the books), it was a really proud moment. I was made up."

Paul feels immense pride in Tom, and watching him make his senior debut for the Blues was one of several special moments.

"The tears welled up in my eyes," he says. "They did just seeing him run out to warm up but for him to actually get on was something else."

Perhaps understandably though, it was Davies breakthrough display - and goal - against Manchester City last term that really left Paul thrilled.

"I nearly fainted," he says. "It was the most amazing feeling in the world seeing how well he played that day, how he expressed himself and the bit of skill that took him into the position from where he scored.

"He slipped but still had the confidence to run in on goal and chip the goalkeeper. It was Tom all over.

"For him to do that and to make the amount of appearances he has had this season is fantastic. But he's had some good performances and some performances where maybe he thinks he could have done better as well.

"But one thing he never does is hide from the game.

"He's always involved, always tries his best to do the right thing and he'll just carry on developing into what I believe will be a top-class player."

Paul, who has a season ticket at Goodison, is tasked with helping find future stars. But he will still be keeping tabs on Davies.

"For me, it is nice when people come up to you and just say things like, 'Tom did fantastic today' or 'I'm walking out of the ground and I can hear people talking about how well he's played," he said.

"I'm just beaming with pride at that point.

"But it's not about me, it's about Tom's development. I was just the one who pushed to get him signed. He's done the rest himself."

The original interview with Paul Judic is from this month's official Everton magazine . Out now.