Frank Lampard basing Everton transfer call with Anthony Gordon on own playing career

If ever a contest highlighted the dilemma at the heart of Everton's season, it was last weekend against Nottingham Forest.

They had the better chances against Steve Cooper's side whose spending on new players has reached £150m this summer, but in the end were perhaps fortunate to have escaped with a point.

If there was a contrast between the teams on show at Goodison Park, then it came towards the end of the contest. The visitors went ahead with a cool finish from the highly-rated Brennan Johnson, showing exactly why he was the club’s top scorer in their promotion campaign.

At the other end, Demarai Gray capitalised on a route one approach when Forest keeper Dean Henderson found himself out of position to stroke home…but Everton should have killed the game afterwards. Henderson atoned with a save from Anthony Gordon at the end, but really the forward should have scored, after being presented with his side’s best opportunities throughout the game. And here is the dilemma. Gordon represents Everton’s future, but their needs are very much in the here and now. They have one point from three games…and no threat up front at all.

If that carries on - with Dominic Calvert-Lewin out for at least six weeks - then another relegation battle looms. And yet there is an offer of £45m on the table from Chelsea for Gordon, an eye watering sum for a player with just one full Premier League season behind him. There are links with proven goalscorers, and that money would pay for one, no question, who would surely transform Frank Lampard’s team.

Gordon is many things, but he is not a finisher. He scored four goals last season, with two assists, and of those four, three were deflections. Here, never really worked the keeper as Johnson so