David Moyes will continue to shield his teenage Everton stars
EVERTON'S teenage star Jack Rodwell will be treated just like Wayne Rooney was by Goodison Park manager David Moyes.
Moyes, who introduced Rooney to the top flight at just 16, yesterday saw Rodwell - 18 next month - sign a new five-year contract at the club.
Rodwell also made his Everton debut last season as a 16 year-old and Moyes will use the same softly-softly technique with the Birkdale-born player to keep him away from the public eye while managing his young career carefully.
Rodwell can expect to be frequently taken out of the firing line, just like Rooney was before his record-breaking transfer to Manchester United.
Rodwell shot into the spotlight at the weekend with his first senior goal in the 3-1 FA Cup victory over Aston Villa.
The nephew of former Blackpool winger Tony Rodwell, Everton's young midfielder stole the show, with Dan Gosling, another teenager from the club's academy, also impressing.
Moyes said yesterday: "We will never speak too much about them. We would never build them up before it is time and certainly do not allow them to believe any hype.
"But Jack is a good kid, and he is like Dan in that he has got his feet on the ground. We will be keeping a close eye on both of them to make sure they develop as we want them to."
Rooney and Everton's current home-grown midfielder, Leon Osman, were both kept under wraps at times by Moyes.
He said: "When we get good young players, we want to sign them up and keep them here.
"That is always the way that we have gone about it. Jack has got a long way to go and it was not ideal that we had to pitch him in at the start of the season, we threw him in at the deep end.
"He played well in those games but we took him away from it for a while to give him a break and let him see what it is all about.
"But when he came back in against Liverpool he looked really good and made a big contribution against Aston Villa. The signs from him were positive."
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