Brought in from the footballing wilderness, Conor Coady may not have been wearing the armband at Goodison Park, but he was as much a leader as anyone on that pitch as Everton secured their Premier League status for another year.
Eyebrows were raised when Frank Lampard enticed the England international to Merseyside last summer. Not only was Coady a boyhood Liverpool fan, having been offloaded by the Reds as a 21-year-old, but Wolverhampton Wanderers were willing to let their captain join a top-flight rival.
The centre-back played every game for Wolves the previous season and had become a regular in the England setup, making his move all the more surprising. While he never featured in Qatar, Gareth Southgate kept Coady in his squad for the World Cup once he became an Everton player.
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However, Frank Lampard’s sacking would throw the 30-year-old’s future into limbo.
Sean Dyche took charge and, while Coady started the first four games under new management, he soon found himself out of the team. The tag of being best suited to a five-at-the-back system has always stuck on the Three Lions star and Dyche’s preference for a 4-4-2 formation provided a conundrum.
Coady arguably had every right to feel hard done by. Those first four games under Dyche saw Everton keep two clean sheets against Arsenal and Leeds United.
But in the Toffees’ hour of desperation, the former Burnley boss turned to his two trusted lieutenants - James Tarkowski and Michael Keane. The duo worked under Dyche at Burnley and were reunited in an Everton back four, with Coady missing out.
The on-loan defender watched from the sidelines for the next 13 games as the Blues struggled to escape the bottom three. Not one to sulk and moan, Coady took his medicine, with his teammates acknowledging the off-the-field contribution.
“I think everyone knows what he is like,” Tarkowski, his rival for a first-team spot, said earlier this month. “But for someone who has not played for the last few weeks to still be talking the way he is, day in and day out. I know on a matchday it can’t be easy for him but he cares.
“He is one of them (a positive force in the dressing room). We all want the best for this club and we all want the best for the team so everyone’s noses are pointing in the same direction.”
Scoring goals has been Everton’s kryptonite this season but, equally as damaging, have been their defensive fragilities.
With Coady in the side, the Toffees conceded 29 in 23 games - a rate of 1.26 per game. By contrast, Everton shipped in a whopping 27 goals from 14 games - or 1.93 per game.
Dyche likely had that frightening statistic in his mind when preparing for the Bournemouth showdown. Drafting Coady in again proved effective, with Everton - adopting a five-back formation partly out of necessity - looking solid and keeping their first clean sheet in seven attempts.
When Coady punched the Merseyside air in celebration at full-time, he did not look like a man disheartened from his previous three months waiting for opportunities.. Talk of an option-to-buy clause at £4.5million is surely too good a chance to turn down.
Reckless spending has become synonymous with Everton under Farhad Moshiri, with funds likely to be tight again this summer. The chance to sign experience, leadership and quality for a snippet rarely comes around in the Premier League.
Everton, presented with a chance to be shrewd in the transfer market, would be foolish not to trigger Coady’s clause as soon as possible.
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