Romano reveals in-form Everton star on brink of new deal as Lampard eyes more attacking recruits
Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi has been one of the few positives for the Toffees this season, and now he looks set to sign a new long-term deal with the club, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Toffees find themselves near the relegation zone after some poor performances in their first 15 games, but Evertonians will be pleased to see their star man Iwobi commit his future to the club.
Iwobi’s current contract is due to run out in 2024, but being 26 years of age he still has plenty to offer at Goodison Park in the long term.
Everton’s season began with renewed optimism after narrowly avoiding relegation in 2021/22, with the acquisition of Conor Coady, James Tarkowski, Amadou Onana, Neal Maupay and Idrissa Gueye being popular with the fanbase.
But after a reasonably solid start, the Toffees now sit in 17th place in the table, after being well-beaten by the likes of Bournemouth and Leicester in their last two games.
One player who has performed consistently well though is Iwobi, who has been revitalised after taking up a new central midfield role since Frank Lampard joined the club last January.
Prior to Lampard’s appointment, Iwobi had struggled to find form playing on the wing, and Evertonians had practically written him off as wasted potential.
However, since scoring a last-minute winner against Newcastle last season, chants of “ohh Alex Iwobi” have been ringing around the Gwladys Street ever since.
Outstanding Iwobi set for new long-term deal at Everton
Now, playing generally as a number 10 or six in the middle of the park, Iwobi has become Everton’s top assister this season, and he also ranks in the top 5% for chance creation in the Premier League.
Iwobi has made five assists in 15 appearances for the Blues so far and also scored a fantastic goal against Manchester United in October.
This gives him the third-most assists from open play in the Premier League this season, behind only Kevin de Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus.
He has been a consistent feature for Everton under Lampard, with Iwobi starting all but one of the Toffees’ games this season.
On Saturday, Twitter transfer guru Fabrizio Romano broke the news to Evertonians that Iwobi is set to sign a new deal with the club, which will be greatly welcomed by supporters.
He said: “Alex Iwobi will soon sign a new deal with Everton. Talks are well advanced, it’s gonna be a new long term deal.”
“Negotiations are progressing to final stages.”
Frank Lampard eyeing attacking options
The good news comes at a time when Everton are seeking to add new attacking options to their squad, which is essential if they want to stay clear of relegation.
TEAMtalk have reported in the last few days that the Toffees are considering signing Newcastle striker Chris Wood, as they look for more support for Dominic Calvert-Lewin who has struggled massively with injuries lately.
Everton are also looking at bringing in Ismaila Sarr from Watford, who is reportedly keen on a move to Goodison after being convinced by Senegal teammate and Blues midfielder Idrissa Gueye at the World Cup.
Finally, Frank Lampard also wants to hijack Wolves’ deal for Matheus Cunha, who would add some much-needed attacking creativity to the Everton front line.
Cunha could be the replacement for Richarlison that Evertonians have been crying out for.
While Cunha, Wood and Sarr would all be valuable additions, it’s equally important that Everton keep hold of their best players and this new contract for Iwobi will do just that.
Everton have been lacking in the forward department this season, and you’d think that a team with those three new names among their ranks would have too much fire-power to be in danger of going down.
Nevertheless, Lampard needs to get these deals done quickly, as all three targets have interest from plenty of other teams, too.
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