Everton legend Pat Nevin backs Frank Lampard to transfer Anthony Gordon
Former Everton winger Pat Nevin believes that Frank Lampard is the right manager to bring the best out of youngster Anthony Gordon.
The England U21 international had an important role to play in the previous campaign for the Toffees where he played a total of more than 2,700 minutes of first-team football [Transfermarkt].
Nevin, while talking to Everton FC, suggests that he can see parallels between Mason Mount’s initial career at Derby County and Gordon’s emergence under Lampard.
“If you think of Frank as a player, you think of his ability to arrive in the box and take one touch, two at the most, from that position,” he said.
“Gordon had a great season and created expectations over what he can achieve. However, the next factor to consider is, how can he sustain those performances and improve like Lampard did?
“He must keep doing what he is good at, but also adapt, and that is what you need to learn quickly. Anthony has a good amount of football intelligence and he must let that grow.
“There are not many in the game who had better spatial awareness arriving in the box than Frank Lampard.
“He worked really well with Mason Mount, did great things with him – adapted and changed him as a player, without losing his strengths.
“And Mason is now an England international and a core player in the Chelsea team. That was built from the time at Derby County.”
If we classify Gordon as the midfielder Lampard always craves, we won’t be wrong. The Everton winger has shown flashes of his talent under the current manager in terms of his attributes and the ability to pick passes for his strikers.
Despite being gifted in terms of vision and creativity, the 21-year-old has already raised the bar and everyone expects more from him in the coming campaign.
In the recently concluded season at the Goodison Park, the midfielder scored four goals and provided two assists in 35 Premier League appearances.
The young winger played 67% of the overall Premier League minutes under Rafa Benitez and Lampard respectively [Transfermarkt].
Even though Gordon is a winger, he can also play behind the striker as an advanced midfielder.
Everton’s midfield and wide areas have been a genuine cause of concern recently. Many Premier League experts criticized their midfielders for being too open and allowing opponents to walk past them easily.
Therefore, it will be important for Lampard to ensure that a youngster like Gordon will keep growing as a player which can be extremely beneficial for Everton going forward.