Everton's young English heartbeat reaping benefit of Ronald Koeman's faith and the leadership of the returning Wayne Rooney

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The images Tom Davies posts seem to encapsulate what he represents to those Everton fans who are seeing a side with a young English core materialise in front of their eyes.

Davies wears bandanas, visits music festivals, discusses animal cruelty and, on one occasion this summer, prepared to carry a surfboard down to the sea, commenting: 'It's fun if you don't see a fin.' He'd probably be a backpacker if he wasn't a footballer.

He's also a throwback on the field of play, with the rolled-down socks reminiscent of Dave Thomas, much-loved Evertonian of the mid-1970s, and family connections which have given him an intuitive sense of the place. Alan Whittle, who broke into the side as a 17-year-old in 1967, is his great uncle.

Tom Davies showed off his backpacker credentials this summer when on holiday in Australia

He may look like he'd be at home in hostels but he's just a comfortable in the Premier League

There were times during the 1-1 draw against Manchester City on Monday when we saw the purest expression of what a band of Englishmen - with Davies at its core - can do on a football field - propelled by the fearlessness of youth.

Davies supplied from wide. The 20-year-old Dominic Calvert-Lewin led the line impressively while Mason Holgate, just five months older, began the move that sent Everton ahead. Michael Keane recovered from a challenging start against David Silva to contribute to a monumental defensive effort. Behind them all, Jordan Pickford looked rock solid again.

And a picture of watchfulness throughout was Wayne Rooney, an individual fairly well qualified to provide advice on how to forge a teenage path at Everton. It was the club's former manager Colin Harvey who said before this season that Rooney's 'influence' might be vastly more significant than his 'edge.'

That quality was evident in the small details of the match in east Manchester. The quiet word Rooney had with Davies when he was booked for diving. The image of the two wrapped in conversation just before the second half.

Davies is one of a number of young English players getting their chance in the Everton team

With Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines and England-born Wales international Ashley Williams also piloting things, the team cannot be characterised as the English young bloods. (Its average age was 26.4 years; City's 26.6.)

Yet we are seeing the nascent signs that English players - younger and older - can flourish in the Premier League, and that makes Everton a side for the neutrals to look out for and cheer from the rafters in the months ahead. Their net transfer spend has been £36m, to City's £145m this summer. Two of the three big purchases have been English.

The young component have certainly had to seize their own chances because Koeman did not seem entirely convinced that youth could deliver when he arrived a year ago. His first signings - Williams and Yannick Bolasie – were older.

He talked publicly about a 'project' and a 'two-year' job. He hardly seemed consumed with optimism about the youngsters, even though some wise heads at the club were expressing more excitement about the next generation than about Ross Barkley.

Another youngster, Mason Holgate, began the move to put Everton ahead at Manchester City

They know all about Everton's commitment to English talent in the nation's lower leagues, which pre-dates Koeman. Holgate arrived in 2015 for £2m from Barnsley, the same club which had provided John Stones, while Calvert-Lewin arrived from Sheffield United for £1.5m a year later.

The big Premier League teams all knew about Charlton Athletic's Ademola Lookman 12 months ago but it was Everton who put up the money - £11m - to sign arguably the most exciting teenager outside the top two tiers.

Some around Goodison Park will tell you that Koeman could have committed even more to his young English brigade than he has. The arrival of Dutch defender Cuco Martina from Southampton this summer has put a hurdle before 20-year-old Jonjoe Kenny, who made a good contribution last season before helping England's Under-20s lift the World Cup.

Wayne Rooney's return to Goodison this summer will be a boost to young players like Davies

Kieran Dowell, Davies' great friend, was also expected to feature this season, after scoring a beautiful goal on tour in Malaysia which was overshadowed by Rooney's first strike back at the club. Some were disappointed to see Dowell loaned out to Nottingham Forest, where he is well known to Liverpudlian Frank McParland, a key member of manager Mark Warburton's management team. He has started superbly at the City Ground.

Even without this pair, Everton's English component is to be savoured, though, and the consistent talk from the dressing room is of Rooney binding them together. 'He is the one talking before we go out, geeing the lads up, giving bits of advice,' Keane said on Monday night. 'Just little tactical things for the team.'

As the club prepared for their journey to Hajduk Split, with a visit to Stamford Bridge beyond that, it seemed fitting yesterday that they should have announced a benefit match in remembrance of Alan Ball. He was one of their finest Englishmen and 21 years old when he first pulled on an Everton shirt.