Frank Lampard has warned that Anthony Gordon would ‘see a different side’ to him if the Everton winger refused to play.
The 21-year-old has been the subject of heavy interest from Chelsea, with Thomas Tuchel’s side reportedly preparing a £60million bid after already having two offers worth up to £45million turned down. With just three days left of the summer window, Gordon’s future remains uncertain but the winger started and scored in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Brentford.
That same weekend saw Wesley Fofana left out of Leicester City’s squad again as he tried to force his own move to Stamford Bridge, while Wolves boss Bruno Lage admitted that he expected Willy Boly to be on the bench during their clash with Newcastle only for the defender to not turn up.
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Asked if Gordon might follow suit, Lampard insisted the boyhood Toffee would never do such a thing, but the Everton boss admitted a ‘different side’ of him would come out if such a situation arose.
“Anthony wouldn't, shouldn't, couldn't do that with me,” Lampard said. “If he did try and sit out a game he'd see a different side to me. No doubt about that and I think he knows that. I'm not playing the hard one, it's just that it would be so alien from what I'd expect from him. I just know that's not him.
“At the same time he's not a robot and all this attention is difficult. I understand that, I was that ambitious young player. That's the beauty of Anthony. Hard-working. He wants to be better.
“He wants to do what he did (on Saturday), which is score goals, run for this team, and that's why he's a delight to work with. So there was never any idea that Anthony would act that way.”
When reminded he had been in a similar situation as a young player before moving from West Ham to Chelsea in 2001, Lampard added: “Yeah, and I played three-and-a-half, four seasons for West Ham, so there's my answer for Anthony. He's played one for us.”
Seemingly un-phased by the whirlwind of transfer speculation surrounding him, Gordon was a standout performer in Saturday’s trip to the Brentford Community Stadium, slotting home the opener and running himself into the ground. And Lampard has praised the young winger’s ‘great’ character, adding that he will be in the squad for Tuesday’s trip to Leeds United and the rest of the season.
“He's in the squad Tuesday for sure,” Lampard added. “His character's great. He's in the squad.
“He's a huge player for us. We're getting towards the end of the window now and Anthony's a huge player for us and will be this season.”
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