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Anthony Gordon was rewarded for a fabulous breakthrough campaign in 2021/22 when he claimed Everton's coveted Players' Player of the Year prize, in addtion to the Young Player of the Year honour.
The graduate from the Club's Academy impressed supporters in addition to his teammates after bolting from the fringes of the Goodison Park squad to fix a grip on a starting position. Evertonians regularly chorused Gordon's name, initially as the young player provided a beacon of hope during a very diffcult opening half of the season, then as Gordon turned in a series of fearless, aggressive performances in his side's fight against the drop.
Gordon began the campaign with 20 First-Team appearances under his belt and finished it with triple that number. His four goals included the only strike in a critical victory over Manchester United towards the end of the season.
Manager Frank Lampard is an avowed fan of the player and selected Gordon from the start of 19 of his 21 games after taking over midway through the season.
Lampard additonally tipped Gordon to mature into "a huge player for us and a huge player for his country". Gordon made a meaningful start on the international front when he scored twice inside the opening 11 minutes of his England Under-21 debut, in a 3-1 European Championship qualification win over Czech Republic in November 2021.
Gordon originally rose to prominence in 2019/20 and, after three senior outings from the bench in the campaign, made his first start in the scoreless Goodison Merseyside derby when football restarted in June 2020 following the coronavirus shutdown.
The forward became the sixth youngest man to play for Everton's First Team when, aged 16 years and 286 days, he came on as a substitute in the Toffees' 3-0 Europa League group stage win over Apollon Limassol in December 2017.
Gordon waited three years for his next opportunity, playing the closing minutes of a Carabao Cup tie against Leicester City under caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson.
The direct attacker, who joined the Club aged 11, impressed then manager Carlo Ancelotti following the Italian's appointment December 2020 and featured in games at West Ham United and Chelsea before receiving his starting chance.
Gordon was involved in all eight of Everton's remaining matches following the derby, beginning three – including a first start away from Goodison, at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Prolific for Everton Under-18s in 2017/18, Gordon stepped up to the Under-23 side the following season and played his part in the young Blues landing a league and cup double.
Gordon's talent was recognised by the Club when he signed a contract in March 2019 tying him to Goodison for at least the following four years.
His ongoing progress was rewarded with a new five-year contract in September 2020. And to gain further senior experience, Gordon joined Preston North End on loan in February 2021, playing 11 games in his three-month spell with the Championship club.
Contracted until: June 2025
