He has been a Blue for less than two months but Conor Coady's influence at Everton has already been such that he has captained the team and earned the nickname 'dad'.
The 29-year-old has been integral to the progress being made at Goodison Park, forming a solid partnership with James Tarkowski and adding much-needed resilience to the spine of Frank Lampard's side.
He has impressed despite joining a side in transition - Coady himself a new player in a new-look defence - and regardless of a tactical switch that means he is now one of two, not three, centre backs. While he has only been an Everton player since August 8, his impact is already clear.
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In Coady, Lampard added a player with a history of withstanding the rigours of the Premier League season and another leader to a squad that includes talismen Jordan Pickford, James Tarkowski and club captain Seamus Coleman. In Amadou Onana and James Garner, Everton have also signed young players who have captained sides during their rise into the senior game.
Coady has been part of a cultural shift in the club's dressing room and his arrival has been a success. From his comments upon signing to his emphatic celebrations for the eventually disallowed goal against Liverpool and then his first legitimate strike against Southampton, Coady has already won the respect of Blues fans. His performances, approach and attitude have been exemplary and any fan would be delighted to hear his declaration after Saturday's win on the south coast: "I want to do anything to help the team, whether it's a block on the line, a tackle, a goal at the other end."
None of his attributes that have come to the fore this season have been a surprise. What was a surprise is that Wolverhampton Wanderers were willing to let him go. When news of the Blues' interest emerged on the eve of the new season, the first instinct of many was that Wolves would surely not want their club captain to leave. He had led the club into the Premier League and been an important part of the building project that led to a stint in Europe. Even last season's 10th placed-finish was a far cry from Everton's flirtation with relegation.
At the beginning of this season it was Wolves that appeared the stable force but with the club now in the relegation zone and Bruno Lage, the manager who sanctioned Coady's loan move to Merseyside, having been sacked the roles have reversed. It is far from unreasonable to believe the loss of Coady's professional influence on and off the pitch may have contributed in some part to his parent club's struggles - particularly as results have been hard to come by and, more pertinently, Everton have enjoyed success after moving to four at the back.
A belief Coady's strength was limited to playing in a back five was apparently part of Lage's decision to leave him out of the starting line-up for the club's opening game of the season after a summer tactical switch and the signing of Nathan Collins. That theory looked questionable at the time and has been proven wrong by Coady, who has formed an impressive partnership with Tarkowski and maintained his placed in the England squad. Wolves' loss of faith in Coady has been Everton's major gain.
Lampard started this Premier League season as one of the managers said by many outside of Everton to be under pressure and at risk of being one of the first managerial casualties of the season. Eight games later, his stock has risen and the Blues are being credited with making real progress. Three managers, including the man who allowed Coady to leave, have already been dismissed and Lampard is nowhere near the bookies' favourites to be next, suggesting the wider world has woken up to the positive signs those close to the Blues could see even before the important first win of the season against West Ham United. Coady is just one factor in that progress, and there remains a lot of work to be done, but his role has been an important one and it is no surprise the club that lost his services has struggled while the one that gained them has gone from strength to strength.
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