The former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has hailed Nigerian midfielder Alex Iwobi as Everton’s silverware in their battle against relegation in the English Premier League. PUNCH Sports supplement the reports
The Nigeria international is on the verge of signing a new long-term deal to stay at the club, and despite some criticism of the team, manager and owner, Jordan has admitted Iwobi has been huge for the Toffees.
In a discussion with Jim White and Danny Murphy talkSPORT took some time to praise the former Arsenal man for being highly critical of Everton’s direction.
“Anyone can spend money. Anyone can say I’ve spent £500 million. OK, wonderful. But who did you spend it with and what is it like? “It looks like a sinking team. I don’t think Frank Lampard is the answer, but that’s for others to decide,” he said.
The former Palace boss then hailed Iwobi, admitting he made a mistake after earlier criticism of the Nigeria international.
“Something is gained because I was very critical of Alex Iwobi, but I have to turn around and say that his performances at that club in the last six to nine months have been incredible.”
Iwobi has certainly secured a new contract with a big break from Lampard, which has made him one of the first names on the team sheet.
In his first two seasons on Merseyside, Farhad Moshiri’s operation to sign Arsenal looked like an expensive and poor signing under Farhad Moshiri, but he deserves a lot of credit for adapting his game.
He’s part of an Everton side that’s slowly looking great from the back, but it’s the gaping holes in attack that hold the team back.
Getting points as quickly as possible after the World Cup break is imperative, and Iwobi is likely to be a big part of that, but he will need more help from an underperforming staff that was in miserable form before the break.