'Really important' - Frank Lampard makes Vitalii Mykolenko claim after Everton breakthrough

Frank Lampard believes that Vitalii Mykolenko is growing into his role at Everton and he was delighted with the left-back's performance against Manchester United last time out.

Mykolenko was one of a host of strong performers for the Blues as they secured a 1-0 victory over Ralf Rangnick's side. Anthony Gordon's deflected strike in the first half was enough to seal what could be a crucial three points in the battle for survival.

And Everton's first January signing proved key to the win,, putting in a strong display both defensively and getting forward, which prompted a number of supporters to give him their personal man-of-the-match shouts. Lampard was pleased by what he witnessed but insists he is not getting carried away as he believes it still will take time for the Ukraine international to fully settle.

When asked about the United match being Mykolenko's strongest performance to date for the club, the Blues boss responded: “I agree, absolutely, he’s growing into the team. And I won’t get carried away with that.

"He’s coming in as our natural left-back. With (Lucas) Digne leaving and him here now he’s the one. I know Jonjoe can play there, and we can find different solutions there.

"We also must remember that he is a player coming from a different league in January to a club under pressure, for different reasons, and then compound it with what is going on back home in the Ukraine. And I was delighted for him against Manchester United, purely on a performance level. It was exactly the performance I would want from him and more.

"Other full-backs coming into the team at this level from England, let alone from elsewhere, need time, so coming from a different league like he has, and with the situation, we have to give him