Many Everton fans have been reacting on social media, after Anthony Gordon set himself a target of becoming established in the first-team fold at Goodison Park following his Premier League debut.
Carlo Ancelotti awarded the 18-year-old his top-flight bow during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at West Ham United, as the boss began the second half by dropping Bernard in favour of the young star.
Gordon was unable to influence a more favourable result than a draw at the London Stadium on the back of his introduction to the action, but has lauded the moment as the best achievement of his fledgeling career to date.
The next potential achievement for Gordon to claim would be to establish himself in the senior fold, where he had previously only featured for eight minutes in all competitions, despite becoming our sixth-youngest ever debutant when fielded aged 16 years, 286 days in the Europa League Group Stage in 2017.
“It’s the best day of my life so far, a Premier League debut, but I want more now and to keep going,” he told EvertonTV. “It would have felt better if we’d won, but it’s the best achievement I’ve had in my career so far.
Is this Gordon's breakthrough season?
Yes
No
“I’m just hoping for more of it now. If you’re on the bench, you’re always hoping to come on. I got the call and I gave it my best.
“[Fabian] Delph, Tom [Davies] and Dom [Calvert-Lewin] really helped me during the game, I got settled straight away. You don’t really think: ‘I’m playing a Premier League game’, you’ve just got to get yourself embedded in the game and do your job and try to win.
“I always give myself a chance and I’m really confident when I play. It didn’t happen today, but hopefully, it will soon enough.”
Gordon recorded 18 touches on Saturday after his half-time introduction, along with two shots – neither on target – one successful dribble, one tackle and found teammates with eight of his ten passes, per WhoScored data.
Here are some of the messages shared as fans reacted to Gordon setting himself the target of breaking into the first-team on a regular basis…
If richy isn’t fit I’d like Gordon to partner dcl 🙂
— me (@toffee_7) January 20, 2020
Please play him Tuesday night and not Walcott
— andyjsb (@andyjsb) January 19, 2020
Keep him in all season sink or swim
— BlueOrder (@YerrysBlue) January 19, 2020
id start him on Tuesday
— Andrew Vale (@AndyVale27) January 20, 2020
He’s better than Walcott
— 🌚 (@_____h23) January 19, 2020
Well done 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
— ⎊ carlo fantastico 💙🇮🇹 (@_jennifer1878) January 19, 2020
Play him more I say
— 🦧 (@YerryOnTheSniff) January 19, 2020
Well played kidder
— Everton_Hipster (@EvertonHipster) January 19, 2020
Give him and kean a chance and even give Denis a chance because he’s better than what we have rtn
— dylan davies (@dylanjd14) January 19, 2020
My son and I were at the match supporting and we both thought you played really well. COYB 💙💙
— Rebecca Pitman (@RebeccaPitman8) January 19, 2020
In other Everton news, Ancelotti is reportedly keen to land a €20million defender, but the club lag behind a European giant in the race for his signature.