'Good for him' - Frank Lampard gives clear Anthony Gordon transfer verdict after latest Everton goal

Anthony Gordon looks set to remain an Everton player beyond September 1.

The future of the 21-year-old - who scored his second goal of the season against Leeds United - has been under scrutiny with several clubs registering interest in him this summer. That peaked when the Blues rejected a £45m bid from Chelsea earlier this month.

But while the London club's pursuit has continued, Gordon now appears to be staying on Merseyside with Lampard revealing his 'red line' - the point beyond which he would not consider allowing such a key player to go - has now been passed.

Speaking after the 1-1 draw with Leeds, Lampard was asked how confident he was that he could retain the services of the academy starlet from Kirkdale.

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He said: "I'm very confident, very confident. And you saw the reasons why in the last two games - because he is our player. He has come through [at Everton], he is a very good player and he is going to get better and better and adding goals to his game is the first step of that and it is the hardest step, so I am really pleased with his performance and his attitude. He will have learnt a lot and grown a lot in the last two or three weeks and that is only good for him. He is a special player for me and I am delighted with what he is doing."

Lampard's focus for the next 48 hours instead appears to be on strengthening his squad. Asked whether Everton were looking to add another striker - in addition to the signing of Neal Maupay on Friday - he said: "We will see, we will see. We are not desperate, I think we have worked hard in this window in a good manner. It has not been an easy window because of the length of it and that has made it hard for a lot of people, but particularly us, when we know we need to adjust the squad, balance the squad, not rebuild the squad but importantly add in the right way and that has not been easy... we will work and see what we can do in the next two days."

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