Donny van de Beek’s impressive Everton full debut ranked among other memorable bows of yesteryear

Donny van de Beek had a full debut to remember as Everton beat Leeds United 3-0 at Goodison Park on Saturday.

The Toffees were dominant from start to finish, taking advantage of a woeful Whites performance to claim all three points.

Goals from Seamus Coleman, Michael Keane and Anthony Gordon sealed the win but it was the performance of the Manchester United loanee that caught the eye of the Goodison faithful.

But how does it tank against some other memorable Everton debuts?

Donny dominant

The 24-year-old was outstanding in the engine room.

It was his cross that fell to Coleman for the opener in the 10th minute following an intelligent run into the wide position.

And van de Beek controlled the midfield from then on. In total, he reigstered 35 passes with a success rate of 89.5% - including three into the final third and two into the penalty area.

Defensively, he won possession the most in the final third, made the most tackles and won the most aerial duels.

The Holland international was an outstanding all-round debut, controlling a midfield and providing the platform for a dominant display in a high-pressure game.

Van de Beek’s display left Evertonians purring at the final whistle and it already appears a prove bit of January transfer business from Frank Lampard.

Of course, the ex-Ajax ace isn’t the only player who’s caught the eye on full debut donning royal blue.

Richarlison (vs Wolves 2018)

One of the more recent successful debuts came from Richarlison in August 2018.

He arrived from Watford that summer and there was some scepticism regarding a fee of up to £50million for a striker who had five goals in 12 Premier League matches.

But the Brazilian’s double helped 10-man Everton clinch a 2-2 draw at Wolves.

Richarlison he was electric throughout, linking up with Cenk Tosun to curl home a brilliant second goal after an instinctive opener.

He showed his fiery streak two weeks later when he was sent off for clashing with Bournemouth’s Adam Smith, but has become a fans’ favourite at Goodison with 37 goals in 120 Premier League games.

Richarlison has also been linked with big-money moves to Barcelona, Manchester United and PSG in the past.

Jo (vs Bolton 2009)

After being frozen out by Mark Hughes at Manchester City, a January deadline-day loan move to Goodison offered a fresh start for Jo.

And what a start he made. The Brazilian played a talismanic role in the Toffees’ dominant 3-0 home defeat of Bolton - winning a penalty and scoring twice.

The striker plucked a Phil Neville clearance out of the air brilliantly to turn and fire under Wanderer’s keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, before slotting home an injury-time penalty to put the icing on the cake.

Jo went on to make 12 appearances for David Moyes’ side during the second-half of the 200-2009 season, scoring five goals.

He returned to Goodison on loan for the 200-2010 campaign but was sent back to Manchester City after travelling to Brazil without permission over Christmas.

Tony Cottee (vs Newcastle 1988)

The overwhelming winner of ‘Best Everton Debutant’ has to be Tony Cottee.

After signing from West Ham for £2.2 million, Cottee scored a hat-trick on his debut - a 4-0 demolition of Newcastle on the opening day of the 1988-989 season.

It took less than 40 seconds for the debutant to break the deadlock and he had his second before half-time as Everton dominated.

And when Cottee rounded the keeper in the second half, he had the fairytale debut that has never been matched.

The striker became an instant hit at Goodison but only managed 10 more league goals as Everton finished eighth and were beaten FA Cup finalists.

Cottee spent six years on Merseyside, making 206 appearances in all competitions and scoring 99 goals. He remains a club favourite.