Gordon 2.0: Moyes can axe Lindstrom by unleashing 17-year-old Everton gem

Everton are riding the crest of a wave under David Moyes’ wing, who has transformed fortunes at Goodison Park, lifting a depleted bunch and guiding them toward the beginning of a new era.

Toward the end of Sean Dyche’s reign, Everton lost all their colour and struggled to even muster their vestigial attacking quality, with a feeling of inevitability regarding a relegation battle.

Now, the Toffees are more adventurous and coherent. Seven matches have come and gone in the Premier League since Everton last tasted defeat, narrowly losing to Aston Villa in January, Moyes’ first match back.

Looking toward the future, Moyes will want to stamp his print on the Merseysiders this summer, making the requisite changes to make real headway as the squad move to Bramley Moore. While bringing players in is important, so too is parting with those flattering to deceive.

Jesper Lindstrom is part of this undesirable list.

Why Everton need to get rid of Jesper Lindstrom

Everton welcomed Lindstrom from Napoli on loan last summer after a miserable campaign in Serie A for the Danish winger.

It was reported the deal contains an option to buy, but after a total absence of potency throughout the campaign, it’s unlikely The Friedkin Group will move to sign him up for good.

Across 29 appearances in all competitions, the 25-year-old has failed to score even once, registering his first assist when supplying Jack Harrison during Everton’s draw against Wolves at Molineux earlier this month.

He simply hasn’t offered enough to suggest there’s a good reason for biting the bullet and paying the transfer fee when other options abound.

Everton are better off turning the transfer cannon elsewhere. And anyway, when Moyes has got such exciting academy stars pushing for a senior role, he may even find he’s got a ready-made replacement for the Napoli player.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

Everton’s next Anthony Gordon could replace Lindstrom

He’s not the most popular name on either half of Merseyside right now, but Anthony Gordon is one of England’s most talented wingers, and after cashing in a £45m cheque for the talent in 2023, Everton would love to promote their next academy star in a similar vein.

Well, they might just have the perfect heir in teenager Kean Wren, who has been making his name known on the academy scene having yet to even reach his 18th birthday.

Originally from Halifax, the right-footer has been with the Finch Farm crew since he was 15, graduating as a first-team scholar with the U18s for the 2024/25 campaign and since going from strength to strength, bagging six goals and laying on one assist across just 12 starts in the U18 Premier League.

Like Gordon, Wren is a dynamic forward capable of playing across the frontline, with such tactical flexibility something Moyes would surely be tempted to use to his advantage, fashioning the youngster into a player befitting his senior set-up and its needs.

That said, though, the 17-year-old’s at his natural best when fielded off the left flank, as with Gordon.

Hailed for his “thumping” finishing by Everton academy reporter Joe Thomas, Wren has become a mainstay in Leighton Baines’ U18 group and needs only make the requisite physical developments as he continues to grow over the next few years to find him earning opportunities to impress under Moyes’ wing.

Though Gordon left in acrimonious circumstances, Everton banked a pretty in selling him. While Wren’s potential suggests his future may be best served on Merseyside, a similar pattern could be followed here.

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