Everton: Lampard’s winger pecking order taking shape as £7.2m man becomes indispensable

Anthony Gordon is fast becoming an undisputed starter in the Everton side. He has performances to back it up and his abilities have left Frank Lampard in awe of the youngster. Everton’s team is taking shape under Lampard.

Even though the results aren’t completely in favour of Lampard, progress is surely being made. On-field, performances have been volatile but a certain sense of confidence is being imparted to the side which can be a huge factor as the Toffees aim to survive in the Premier League.

When Lampard came in, he would have surely assessed the squad and made certain deductions. To start with, he strengthened the midfield by bringing Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek. Even though there have been an awful lot of injuries, a team is taking shape in the early days of the Lampard regime.

While the defence still needs sorting out and the striker positions are unchallenged, the pecking order at flanks is starting to take shape. Everton house Demarai Gray, Andros Townsend, Alex Iwobi, Anthony Gordon and Anwar El Ghazi.

Due to injuries, Lampard has been forced to chop and change the shape of the team almost every game but he has stuck with two wingers starting out wide.

Anthony Gordon can be the difference maker for Everton

Out of the four available wingers, Gordon has emerged as an indispensable name in the team. The 21 year old has started every game under Lampard has shown exciting signs in all the games. In many ways, this is a breakthrough campaign of sorts for Gordon and he has not let go of a single opportunity to impress Everton and the fans.

With 396 minutes under his belt out of a possible 450, it is safe to say Lampard is heavily going to invest his time and efforts in developing and polishing Gordon. Lampard has placed immense trust in Gordon and the youngster his repaying it with dazzling displays in every game.

Going forward, Gordon remains a core part of Lampard’s setup. On the other hand, Gray and Iwobi are also becoming Lampard’s preferred choices. Courtesy of bad luck due to injury, Gray has played just 126 minutes under Lampard so far and on the other hand, Iwobi has managed to play 245 minutes.

It seems Iwobi has managed to pip Townsend and El Ghazi. Townsend has somewhat retreated in the shadows and seems to be a squad player under Lampard, which is a stark contrast to his involvement during Benitez’s time at Goodison. The Spanish coach was heavily in favour of Townsend and the way he set up his side did actually suit Townsend’s traits.

Finally, El Ghazi just doesn’t know what he’s doing at Everton. Neither the fans know why was he signed on a loan deal nor did Benitez ask for a winger. Lampard doesn’t know what to do with him either. Solely based on minutes played, it’s safe to say Lampard doesn’t prefer El Ghazi.

The winger department seems well stacked and adding El Ghazi to the ranks seems an unnecessary addition. He’s isn’t going to get much game time. His best shot at regular minutes is only if there’s an injury crisis or he all of a sudden starts emulating prime Arjen Robben in training and Lampard gives him a go.

Lampard have a distinctive brigade of wingers who bring different strengths to the table. The Englishman will have to smartly use them to extract the maximum out of them to propel Everton’s attack.

Will Anthony Gordon become Everton’s main man in the coming years?