Cameroon Afcon turned Iwobi into Everton undroppable as the club continues to regret his exit
The revival of Alex Iwobi’s Everton career was founded upon disappointment, both personal and at the club.
His was a four-year stint that had two very distinct halves. For so long, to some, he was a symbol of the wasted excess of the spending of majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri.
Initially, he struggled, as did so many of the players signed with expectations as lofty as their price tag. As managers changed he continued to get opportunities but flattered to deceive after his arrival on transfer deadline day 2019 from Arsenal in a £35m deal.
But as Everton’s plight worsened, Iwobi’s impact increased. He remained a player who split opinions to his final day in Blue. Yet few can question that he fought hard for a club over its toughest years of recent history - playing a key role in two ultimately successful relegation battles.
The obvious turning point in Iwobi’s Everton fortunes would be the dramatic 99th-minute winner he scored against Newcastle United in the spring of 2022. Surging through midfield he linked with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, slotted past Martin Dubravka, and sent Goodison Park wild. One of just six Premier League goals for the Blues, at the time it felt of huge importance. Under the lights at the Grand Old Lady, he appeared to have given his side the boost it needed to pull away from a fight for survival. That did not end up being the case but it would not be his last major contribution as Everton faced the threat of the drop - his equaliser at Leicester City last May the strongest contender for his most important goal.
For all the ecstasy and emotion that night at Goodison, it was not a spontaneous act of seizing the initiative - that moment had been weeks in the making. The turning point came in late January as, within days, events unfolded across different continents that would shape Iwobi’s career.
Red card in Cameroon
In Cameroon, Iwobi reached his professional nadir. Less than 10 minutes after being introduced during the second half of Nigeria’s African Cup of Nations knockout tie with Tunisia, he received a straight red card after VAR intervened and ended his tournament. His side would go on to lose and he later wrote on Instagram: "We will be back to fight for our nation, stronger. We owe it to you, and I owe it to myself."
The red card hit Iwobi hard and forced him into a period of reflection that was supported by his loved ones. It was a low point set against a backdrop of struggle at Everton, where he was finding it difficult to prove his value to then-manager Rafa Benitez. Speaking to the ECHO in Washington DC the following summer, he explained: "I had lows of not really playing under the previous manager [Benitez] and then that red card was one of the hardest challenges to overcome. What I am grateful for is the support system I have at this club, with Nigeria, and with my family. They were able to talk to me and get through to me. That is why I was able to have a decent run towards the end of the season because without them I would have been struggling."
The “decent run” he referred to stemmed not just from the determination to push on in his career following the disappointment in Cameroon. It came because the birth of his new focus coincided with the departure of Benitez from Finch Farm and the appointment of Frank Lampard.
Iwobi said: "I feel like ever since the new manager came in and I came back from the Africa Cup of Nations it was almost like a new challenge and a new start. When I came into training I felt I was capable. I was hungry to get myself back into the team and the gaffer appreciated that. Luckily he had that faith and belief in me and I was able to do what he wanted me to do and able to help the team get results. It was good for me when he came in, it has been helpful for my career. He is able to relate to how someone is feeling mentally as well as trying to help people on the pitch. For me, when I was going through a difficult period where I wasn't playing [under Benitez] and coming off the back of the Cup of Nations he was literally talking to me just saying, 'Go again, I know the qualities you have'. He kept saying, 'express yourself, play freely' - and that is what I have been doing."
Lampard’s assistant, Joe Edwards, was also key to Iwobi’s growing sense of belief. The goal against Newcastle did not end the relegation fight. The threat grew increasingly worse before the relief of the survival-clinching win over Crystal Palace in the penultimate game of the season. Iwobi’s star rose in that period. With an injury crisis decimating Lampard’s squad he was moved to right wing-back and from there his determination, power, and fitness levels enabled him to become a crucial outlet for a side playing with its backs to the wall. Off-the-pitch he stood up to the media spotlight during tough moments, shielding others from the glare of the relegation fight.
Iwobi grew from strength to strength but was undermined by the turbulence of Everton’s squad. His versatility earned him his place under Lampard and then saw him retain it - albeit elsewhere on the pitch. Lampard started last season how he had ended the previous one, with a team severely hampered by injury. In the final game of pre-season, a friendly with Dynamo Kyiv, Iwobi formed part of a two-man centre midfield with Abdoulaye Doucoure. The pair took up the same roles against Chelsea in the Premier League curtain raiser one week later.
He remained in the middle under Lampard and became part of his preferred three-man central unit alongside Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye. Iwobi found the best form of his Blues career on the left of that central midfield. It was from there he emerged as a much-needed creative force, scoring a stunning goal against Manchester United and picking up several of his seven assists of the campaign from there. This was some feat considering just how much Everton struggled to score goals. Had it not been a side largely without the spearhead it had been built around, his figures would likely have been far better.
