An Everton player produced a colossal midfield performance on Sunday afternoon.
Unfortunately for Frank Lampard, it wasn’t Andre Gomes. It wasn’t Abdoulaye Doucoure either, the Frenchman looking a mile off the pace during that humiliating 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Instead, it was left to Jean-Philippe Gbamin to remind Everton what they’re missing. To remind Everton what they paid all the money for back in 2019, when the Ivory Coast international was one of Europe’s most exciting young midfielders, arriving at Goodison amid such lofty expectations.
Gbamin, farmed out on loan by Everton during the January transfer window, was the best player on the pitch as CSKA Moscow battered Rubin Kazan 6-1 this weekend.
And that was no mean feat, given that CSKA team-mate Yusuf Yazici scored a hat-trick during that thumping win at the VEB Arena.
“I like Gbamin,” former CSKA ace Alexander Grishin tells Sport Express after the Ivory Coast international opened his account for the Russian giants against a sorry Rubin side.
“This guy was underestimated by many and his contribution to the team’s success is undeniable. There has not been such a player in CSKA since (three-time Premier League winning legend) Pontus Wernbloom.
“He’s good in the attacking build-up. Against Rubin, he scored and gave an assist to (Jesus) Medina. I’m not surprised that it was Gbamin who was named man of the match despite Yazici’s hat-trick.”
Does Gbamin have a future at Everton?
There have never been any doubts about Gbamin’s quality. Availability, instead, has been his issue at Goodison Park. A relentless string of injuries restricting the £25 million enforcer to a handful of appearances in Everton blue.
But, in a matter of weeks, Gbamin has already started twice as many games for CSKA (four) as he did in three years at Everton (two).
The Toffees may have felt that a loan move to Moscow was exactly what the doctor ordered in January. Perhaps literally. Less than two months on, that decision has been justified, a fully-fit Gbamin emerging as the driving force behind CSKA’s resurgent title challenge.
It is no coincidence that they have won all four of their games since Gbamin made his debut. There’s a reason, according to the midfielder’s agent, why Serie A giants Roma have made their interest known.
Maybe Gbamin does have a future at Goodison Park after all.
The solution?
Lampard injured his hand after celebrating Everton’s dramatic 99th minute winner against Newcastle United on Thursday. There were no broken bones at Selhurst Park but one suspects that 4-0 capitulation hurt a whole lot more.
If Lampard learned anything on Sunday, it’s that the Toffees are crying out for a dominant central midfielder capable of contributing at both ends of the pitch. Though Everton won’t need to delve into the transfer market to find one.
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