Former Everton winger Pat Nevin says manager Frank Lampard has found two long-term defensive options.

Nevin believes the arrival of James Tarkowski from Burnley and Conor Coady on-loan from Wolves has given the Toffees a defensive stability not seen at Goodison Park for years.

And with Coady due to sign permanently, the Scot is convinced both he and Tarkowski will prove long-term options at Everton.

Speaking to Tribalfootball.com on behalf of FreeSuperTips, Nevin reasoned: "With Tarkowski and Coady you have absolutely trustworthy defenders who can play in a two or a three.

"There was a period where (Mason) Holgate played alongside in a back three and it looked fine. (Nathan) Patterson and (Vitalii) Mykolenko were on either side and when you looked at it, you thought, yeah that's a pretty good defence.

"But you realise what Frank Lampard really wanted was the extra man in midfield and Holgate seems to have missed out because of that.

"Coady and Tarkowski look capable and dependable, especially with a sitting midfielder in front of them.

"They've done it brilliantly well; they've only conceded seven goals so far in the league which tells you the story.

"Better still, in the last six they've only conceded four goals, which is fantastic for a team that was struggling last season.

"They're not scoring a whole bunch, but they're unbeaten in six games and considering Liverpool were in that run, it shows there has been a huge jump forward.

"You do think he's got the backline sorted, Nathan Patterson obviously has a slight injury at the minute, but that defence I mentioned is sorted.

"Now the hard bit is going the other way and finding ways to score more goals."