Frank Lampard managed to secure his first win as Everton manager in the FA Cup last weekend, but the mood was dampened slightly with Ben Godfrey going off injured.
The 24-year old has proven himself to be a solid and versatile player since arriving in the summer of 2020 for £25 million having been deployed at centre-back and right-back, however, with the arrivals of Vitalii Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson, it appears that his future will be at the heart of the defence.
Will Lampard succeed at Everton?
Yes!
No!
Lampard decided to go with a back three at the weekend, which consisted of Godfrey, Michael Keane and Mason Holgate, but the former was forced off after just 14 minutes, which saw Yerry Mina brought into the side.
Aside from Mina, Lampard’s only other centre-back option on the bench was 19-year-old Jarrad Branthwaite, who’s started just one league game this season, so both fans and manager will be hoping that Godfrey’s injury isn’t too serious.
Judging by his Instagram message of ‘Some performance that from the boys! Gutted to come off injured, I’ll be back’, it appears he will be more focused and determined to return than ever before.
Godfrey has proved himself to be one of Everton’s better purchases in recent years, having hit the ground running by racking up an impressive 46 league starts already, and with a younger and arguably less defence-minded coach, he could see his ball-playing ability utilised fully as he ranks inside the top 10 for yards progressed with the ball at Everton (as per FBRef).
This latest injury will no doubt be a cruel blow for Lampard if he is to stick with a back three, as he will now have no senior first-team cover with three potentially season-defining games coming up in the form of Newcastle United, Southampton and Leeds United, so Everton will need all of their top starters fit and ready to go.
In other news: ‘Absolutely ludicrous’ – Damning Everton verdict dropped on Sky Sports podcast