Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi has revealed how giving his best while training helped convince Everton manager Frank Lampard that he could be counted on.
The former Arsenal winger had failed to nail down a first-team shirt or win the fans over since joining Everton in 2019, having worked with various managers during that time.
Despite the disappointment of a difficult 2021 AFCON in Cameroon with Nigeria, the versatile playmaker returned to Everton with a new motivation.
Better than most of his predecessors, Lampard has certainly managed to get the best out of Iwobi despite using him in multiple different positions.
Iwobi has completed the ninety minutes in all six of Everton’s Premier League matches this term, clocking one assist with Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, James Tarkowski, and Nathan Peterson the only other Everton players to have earned as many minutes as Iwobi so far this term.
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“He (Lampard) got appointed while I was at AFCON, so when I got back I feel like he didn’t really know what to expect from me especially from what he’d seen under other managers, and after the red card at AFCON,” Iwobi told Everton TV.
“But coming back, he said he was a bit surprised at how I train; I am decent in training and always give 100%; it’s just about getting that out in matches. He told me to play the way I train and express myself, so he gave me that confidence.”
He continued: “Ever since then, it’s been working out in different positions; I can’t say where my best position is! But he’s trialled me in different positions and it’s worked out.
“They’re [the staff] easy to talk to. Ashley Cole, Paul Clement, Joe Edwards – they’re all good not just to me but everyone. They make it feel like it’s one big family; it’s a nice feeling.”