Frank Lampard faces Seamus Coleman decision that could affect Everton transfer plan

Having seen Frank Lampard gushing praise for Seamus Coleman during Everton's wild survival celebrations, there's no doubt the captain will have a prominent role in the squad next season.

The 33-year-old is entering the final year of his contract with the Blues during the 2022/23 season, and it's yet to be seen fully whether Nathan Patterson can be the long-term replacement that many hope for him to be. But perhaps there's an interesting question over the position the Republic of Ireland international will be playing next term.

Over the closing weeks of the campaign, with Everton clearly looking to tighten up at the back, Lampard for the most part settled on a 5-2-3 system which carried him through the latter stages. That saw Coleman move into a centre-back role and Alex Iwobi take up a position as a right wing-back.

Speaking to the Nigeria international after the draw with Watford, the ECHO found out just how crucial the captain was to his teammate's regularly excellent for in an unnatural position. He said: "Without him I'd probably be all over the place! He's always shouting my name and telling me where to be so I do appreciate that.

"Playing next to someone like him he's always vocal, always telling me 'right shoulder', 'left shoulder', 'the winger's coming inside'. He does help me a lot and makes my work easier, when I should be making his work easier!"

Regardless of those quotes, it was clear for supporters to see just how well Coleman adapted to his new position. There had been questions about his ability to regularly play as a right-back in the side, especially in the same mould that he proved so impressive in earlier in his career.

The defender has had to adapt his game to be more smart. He's choosing when to