Super Eagles star, Alex Iwobi has named Frank Lampard as the manager who had the greatest impact on his career, a surprising admission for someone who came through under Arsène Wenger and Unai Emery at Arsenal.
Now excelling at Fulham under Marco Silva, the Nigeria international spoke without holding barrels on The Inside Scoop podcast.
Iwobi reflected on the turning point in his career and took a thinly-veiled dig at Rafa Benitez in the process.
“Lampard revived my career,” he said. “One of the AFCONs (2021 against Tunisia) I got sent off, I came back, and Rafa Benitez told me I would go out on loan.
“I was having a mare, but then Benitez was gone. Lampard told me I would be going on loan to another country. I said, ‘I’m not doing that, I’d rather stay here and fight for my place.’”
Lampard’s trust, not tactics, made the difference – Alex Iwobi
Lampard didn’t just keep Iwobi at Everton, he unlocked him. While others saw a winger out of ideas, the former Chelsea boss saw a midfielder waiting to be set loose.
In a struggling side, he gave the former Arsenal man a new lease of life by shifting him centrally.
Alex Iwobi wins Everton's Players' Player of the Season award 🎖️
Congrats @alexiwobi 👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/xTLvvIGIWf
— Soar Super Eagles (@SSE_NGA) June 2, 2023
“He said, ‘You can do this in training, why can’t you do it in matches?’ I told him, ‘I’ve been told by previous managers to set the ball and run.’ He then said, ‘No, do your own thing.’”
No longer shackled to the touchline, the Hale End Academy graduate thrived in the middle, linking play, breaking lines, running with purpose. His energy and invention became a lifeline for Everton during the 2022/23 survival battle.
That rebirth has since travelled with him to Fulham, where under Marco Silva, he’s hit a new gear. In what has been his most productive Premier League season to date, Iwobi has featured in every league match, scoring nine and assisting six.
