Everton defender Ben Godfrey takes another step towards first-team action
Ben Godfrey made another massive step towards returning to first-team action for Everton, starting for the Under-21s in the Papa Johns Trophy.
This is the second game in which Godfrey has featured for the Everton youngsters and is a huge step towards him appearing for Frank Lampard soon.
Liverpool Echo Journalist Joe Thomas highlighted Godfrey’s “comeback” from injury on Twitter in response to the club’s announcement of the Under-21s starting team.
“Ben Godfrey gets another start for the U21s on his comeback from injury,” said Thomas on Twitter.
This will be music to the ears of Toffees who have been agonisingly waiting for the young star to return to first-team action.
Three-centre-backs.
With Godfrey returning and Everton way off the pace, Lampard may look at some fresh ideas to revitalise his frailing squad.
The Everton boss may look to implement a three-at-the-back system, playing Godfrey alongside mainstays Conor Coady and James Tarkowski.
A fit and firing Godfrey would certainly fit the bill for the kind of player who could slot in alongside the Premier League veterans.
His youthful exuberance and pacey play could arguably be paired perfectly with Coady and Tarkowski, but we’ll have to wait and see if this is an option Lampard moves forward with.
In the meantime, the Under-21s is the perfect playground for the defender to get some minutes under his belt, hopefully, he can come back firing after the World Cup break.
Lampard’s Toffees are slipping dangerously close to the relegation zone and the Englishman will want to avoid a repeat of last season’s dire straights.
New systems and ideas will be needed to get Everton out of this tricky mess.