Conor Coady convinced to join Everton after Frank Lampard phone call
The signing of England international Conor Coady has encouraged many at Everton and he could be in line to debut at Aston Villa on Saturday.
The 29-year-old joined the club on an initial loan deal from Wolverhampton Wanderers which could then turn permanent next summer having captained Wolves since their promotion to the Premier League.
Coady knew his time at Molineux was coming to an end but it was Frank Lampard who convinced him to make Goodison Park his next destination via a phone call.
“I was just thinking: ‘It’s Frank Lampard, one of the greatest England players of all time is now on the phone as an Everton manager telling me about the football club’,” he said to the Liverpool Echo.
“He didn’t really have to tell me about the football club to be honest because I knew all about it already. I know how big it is to people, I know how big it is in sport and how big it is in the city.
“But just him talking about Everton was incredible for me. Honestly, it is a phone call I will remember for a long time.”
Leader
One of the biggest problems Everton suffered last season was defensive stability with one of the leakier backlines in the Premier League and Coady should resolve all of those issues.
Not only is he a superb defender on his own merit, especially in a back three as he has played at Wolves for years, but he is also a true leader in every sense of the term.
When the Liverpool-born ace speaks, he gets people to listen and that is a very tough attribute to develop and that commander was severely lacking at Goodison Park last season.
He might not wear the armband with Seamus Coleman and Jordan Pickford ahead of him but he will still act like a captain which will only be a good thing for Lampard.
The manager has worked wonders to get this deal over the line and it could be the turning point that Everton were in desperate need of.