Everton have only had one win in the Premier League season so far, but some players like Anthony Gordon and Jordan Pickford have still shone to rank highly in our Power Rankings.
Frank Lampard oversaw the Toffees’ first three points of the top-flight term after edging a 1-0 win over West Ham United prior to the international break. The Goodison Park natives had drawn in each of their previous four games entering the clash, following successive defeats.
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Losing to Chelsea and Aston Villa was far from the ideal start to the season, and Lampard will have wanted more than just a draw against Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Leeds United. A point against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby could have been three, as well.
Conor Coady had the ball in the back of the Reds’ net, only for a lengthy VAR intervention to rule the centre-back’s hit out. Jurgen Klopp also required some outstanding saves from Alisson Becker to deny Everton as Neal Maupay and Dwight McNeil came close to scoring.
Everton’s maiden win of the season finally arrived against David Moyes’ underperforming West Ham, though. Maupay opened his Toffees account to overcome the now one win to five defeats Hammers, who needed Lukasz Fabianski to prevent the scoreline creeping up.
Lampard will hope the September international break does not now cost his side a chance to build momentum. Everton will look to seal back-to-back wins when the Premier League resumes away to Southampton, before facing Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
The Toffees coach will also hope to have Pickford back after the England No.1 missed their win over West Ham with a thigh injury. He was among Everton’s best performers over the first weeks of the Premier League season, to rank highly in HITC Sport’s Power Rankings…
Anthony Gordon tops our Power Rankings at Everton so far in 22/23
Gordon tops our Power Rankings for Everton’s Premier League season so far having led the Merseyside outfit’s offensive efforts. Lampard has needed to rely on the 21-year-old to be a versatile attacking presence with Dominic Calvert-Lewin yet to play due to a knee injury.
Gordon has been exemplary in his performances either as a makeshift centre-forward or in his natural left-wing role. Even after Lampard blocked his potential £60m move to Chelsea, per Sky Sports, this summer that the Independent reports Gordon told Everton he wanted.
The England U21 talent delivering at the levels he has produced after a summer of intense speculation is a testament to Gordon’s character. He will now look to come out of the pause in Premier League action and build on his goals from 1-1 draws with Brentford and Leeds.
Jordan Pickford is often at Everton’s rescue to sit high in our Power Rankings
Pickford was often at Everton’s rescue before the England shot-stopper sustained an injury and the Toffees ruled him out until after the international break. The 28-year-old will want to now build on his mere one clean sheet in six outings when the Premier League resumes.
Lampard will have been particularly grateful for Pickford’s work between the sticks despite the result against Chelsea. He was sublime at home to the Blues, and repeated his heroics against Liverpool to take a point after Darwin Nunez and Roberto Firmino caused trouble.
Alex Iwobi is proving he has a lot more to offer in central midfield
Alex Iwobi has often failed to live up to the £28m, rising to £34m, that Marco Silva paid for the Arsenal product in 2019. The Nigerian has occasionally shown promise on the wings or as an attacking midfielder, but is now proving he has a lot more to offer in central midfield.
His efforts in the engine room have been tremendous with Iwobi regularly the one setting the tone at Goodison Park. Finding pockets of space has come naturally to the 26-year-old, who has demonstrated a strong passing range to record two assists in seven appearances.
Everton struck gold Conor Coady move as Wolves loanee offers leadership
Everton struck gold with their move to sign Coady on loan from Wolves with a £12m option to buy him next year. The centre-half is offering Lampard the defensive leadership that the Blues lacked and even took the captain’s armband in Pickford’s absence against West Ham.
The Irons affair was only the 29-year-old’s sixth outing with Everton, but Coady has quickly become a key figure on Merseyside. He has shrugged off any suggestion he cannot operate in a back-four with an array of important tackles, interceptions and blocks over his outings.
Nathan Patterson is finally justifying his January transfer after a tough start
Nathan Patterson is finally getting a chance to justify why Rafa Benitez paid Rangers £12m, rising to £16m, in January. The right-back only played twice for Everton last term before he required surgery after a season-ending ankle injury, but has made seven outings this term.
The 20-year-old is keeping Seamus Coleman out of the Everton line-up after capitalising on the Toffees captain starting the season with an injury. Patterson has not let the Republic of Ireland star get a look in since with his strong offensive exploits plus solid defending so far.
James Tarkowski has barely put a foot wrong since his free summer transfer
James Tarkowski has barely put a foot wrong since Lampard persuaded the centre-back to join Everton in a Bosman deal after leaving Burnley this June. The 29-year-old is a mainstay of the Toffees’ side after making their backline vastly stronger in almost every way he can.
Amadou Onana still has room to grow but is justifying LOSC Lille’s price tag
Lampard edged Moyes to see Everton sign Amadou Onana from LOSC Lille for £33m after his Ligue 1 side had already agreed a £33.5m fee with West Ham, per BBC Sport. The price was a huge markup on the €7m (£6m) Les Dogues paid Hamburg only last August for him.
Onana had also only started 11 of his 32 French top-flight appearances across the 2021/22 season. Yet the 21-year-old Belgian is justifying Lille’s demands with his performances with Everton to date, and he still has room to grow on some versatile and entertaining displays.
Vitalii Mykolenko has carried his strong end to 21/22 into the new campaign
Vitalii Mykolenko had a steady start to life with Everton after joining under Benitez during January from Dynamo Kyiv for £17m. But the left-back ended last season strongly as they secured another year in the Premier League, and has carried that finish into the new term.
Lampard will still see room for Mykolenko to improve, though, hence his lower standing in our Power Rankings for Everton’s season so far. But his defensive work and determination have been praiseworthy, especially after some strong challenges, even if not that exciting.
Neal Maupay showing great determination to fill in for Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Everton knew they had to sign a striker this summer after losing Calvert-Lewin to an injury he suffered in training, having only had the England ace start 15 games last season after a quadriceps issue and further injuries kept him on the sidelines for more than four months.
Maupay was eventually the striker Lampard signed after getting a £15m deal with Brighton & Hove Albion late in August. The 26-year-old then made his debut against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, before scoring the goal that clinched Everton’s 1-0 win over West Ham.
Lampard would have been relieved to see Maupay score and justify his move as he only hit 26 goals in 102 Premier League games for Brighton. The Frenchman also impressed against the Irons with his ability to link play, while his energy also stood out at home to Liverpool.
Demarai Gray lacking consistency to sit high in our Everton Power Rankings
Demarai Gray is just one of three players to have scored a Premier League goal for Everton this season, with Gordon (2) and Maupay (1). The forward hit home his only goal to date in their 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest, and has also played 612 of a 630 possible minutes.
Yet consistency has often alluded the 26-year-old, as he clearly struggled without an out-and-out striker leading the line. If Gray can now maintain the levels shown against West Ham with Maupay at the top, the Everton forward will rapidly climb our Power Rankings.
The winger was a constant threat against the Irons, but just fell short with his end product. Gray’s final action on the ball has regularly been his undoing this season, and Lampard will hope the international break offers him a chance to reset and work on his decision-making.
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