Everton will confirm a new long-term contract from Anthony Gordon this week – and then look to him to become a belated goalscoring talisman for Frank Lampard’s struggling side.
Gordon’s stellar rise culminated in a £45m offer from Chelsea in the summer but despite a bright start to this season, his form has plateaued along with that of Everton’s. A new deal, which has been talked about for months, represents not only a significant pay rise but also a show of faith from the club that a homegrown forward who is widely admired in the game can realise his potential at Goodison Park.
The signs from Gordon seem very positive. While the rest of Everton’s squad enjoyed time off following their mid-season trip to Australia, Gordon travelled to Dubai for some intensive warm weather training.
Among the work he did with a team of specialist coaches was on his finishing, with the player said to be desperate to rediscover the edge that made him such a hot property in the summer. Euro 2024 and being part of the England conversation is another motivation.
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How Lampard needs him ahead of a big few weeks at Goodison Park, where tensions were rising before the season broke up for the World Cup.
The back-to-back defeats at Bournemouth at the start of November were a serious reality check and leave the Toffees hovering precariously above the drop zone.
But i understands Lampard retains the total confidence of Everton’s power brokers, who have little appetite for yet another managerial change and all the upheaval that entails.
The club’s root and branch review of operations last year identified the vast turnover of playing and backroom personnel that have accompanied the cycle of hirings and firings over the last five years as one of the reasons for the club’s recent struggles. Dispensing with Lampard – who is just one full transfer window into an overhaul of the club’s identity – would be counterproductive and would surely only be considered if Everton’s predicament worsened considerably.
Instead, Lampard will be backed in the transfer window, where club insiders say “no-one is in any doubt” about the need to add attacking players. At least one striker is expected to join, with the decision to release Salomon Rondon the precursor to what is expected to be a busy January transfer window.
Nobody needs to be reminded that goals have been the problem and it’s understood Everton will further utilise the loan market in their search for an attacking edge.
While results obviously dictate the direction of the club, there has been significant investment off-the-field with an eye on the long-term future.
And i understands three new key appointments have been signed off and will be announced early in the new year: a new head of recruitment, a newly-created head of emerging talent and a head of performance analysis and insights.
All three jobs are part of a major behind-the-scenes revolution that has been overseen by Kevin Thelwell. Since the former Wolves executive was appointed as the club’s Director of Football last year they have added 26 new roles to the football operations department.
All the while, the club’s gleaming new stadium on Bramley-Moore docks is starting to take shape. One of the directors of the project – Laing O’Rourke’s Tom Higgins – said this week the facilities would “blow Everton fans away” and there is a palpable sense that the stadium, earmarked for use at Euro 2028, will represent a new era for Everton.
But on the field, they just need to avoid the same old issues to ensure 2023 doesn’t take the club down a familiar cul-de-sac.
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