Everton have been blessed in terms of their full-backs for a long time.
Seamus Coleman, Leighton Baines, Lucas Digne. At their respective peaks, they could have all walked into most teams in the division and improved them, with them all managing to create a number of important and memorable moments throughout their spells at Goodison Park.
But, the time had come for the Blues to move in a new direction. The latter or that trio moved on to Aston Villa after what was a controversial fall-out with Rafael Benitez, while his predecessor in that position had confirmed his retirement at the end of the 2019/20 campaign to move into a coaching role.
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Coleman remains the club captain and a key part of Everton's squad, but he's been watching this Premier League season so far from the sidelines. Partly down to injury, and partly because of the fantastic form shown by his replacement in the team.
Both Nathan Patterson and Vitalii Mykolenko on either side of the club's defence have been asked to adapt quickly to their new surroundings in the Premier League. In fact, fans might have been preparing themselves for them to take a little longer to find their feet than they actually have.
The Ukraine international particularly has been through an incredibly tough time in recent months. Everyone associated with the club would have understood any fluctuations in form or behind-the-scenes concerns that might have seeped into his training schedule and performances.
But look at his display against Liverpool and you see why Evertonians have taken to him so much. It wasn't easy to step into the shoes of Lucas Digne, especially with being a very different style of left-back than the outgoing Frenchman, but he's now completely made that position his own.
After a completely understandable slow start on Merseyside, a new manager brought with it a new lease of life for the 23-year-old as he became a key factor behind Everton's dramatic survival. His strong defensive instincts have served him very well in the current campaign too, most recently keeping Mohamed Salah very quiet for the majority of the derby.
On the opposite flank, Patterson was giving Luis Diaz a rough game to continue what had been an excellent beginning to his own campaign. The Scotland international had to wait a little longer than he initially anticipated for his Premier League debut, but has hardly put a foot wrong since that point.
The former Rangers man looked energetic and creative as a wing-back at the beginning of the season as Lampard opted for a five-man defence, although some questioned whether he had the defensive side of his game up to scratch yet. If anybody doubted, though, they should probably look at his last two matches.
Patterson has converted to a full-back expertly, showing some impressive stats against Liverpool particularly. Eight recoveries, five successful tackles and one each for blocks, interceptions and clearances.
No wonder Lampard was so keen to praise the pair after the final whistle as he said: "I’ve got to give a big shout out to both full-backs in their own ways. With Myko the off the pitch stuff is something we can’t imagine, he carries it unbelievably well I know he feels the support from all of us, but he carries it unbelievably well when you consider what is going on back home.
"His development as a player, when I first came he had not been here long, and it was a question for him, my feeling was, ‘does he belong in this league?’. You know that’s a natural question coming into the Premier League, and I sat and talked with him and when through his game a lot last year, and went through clips with him - for the reasons why we signed him basically, before I got here.
"And I’ve just seen him grow, defensively, offensively, going up against one of the best (in Mohamed Salah) I thought his one on one was outstanding.
"And Patts on the other side, what a start to the season. He was injured when he was about to make his debut last year, and his defensive game has been excellent. People say he’s a real good offensive full-back but his defensive game has been excellent.
"Them two, the real pressure changing to a back four, there are quite a lot more question marks being asked of the full-backs and centre halves, because they get isolated more in certain situations and they have both done it great, and they are both young players so they are going to get better."
The final point is the real positive that Evertonians can take out of this. And, simultaneously, it's something to keep in mind for if there are potential dips in their current form in the future.
Both of these players arrived unproven in the Premier League but have respectively won fans over with their quality, tenacity and clear love for the shirt early doors. They're players who are desperate to learn and improve, but they are bound to make a couple of mistakes along the way as well.
What is exciting for Blues fans is seeing them perform so well right now, this is a real glimpse into what the future could be in what have been two hugely important positions for this club in the past.
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