Everton winger Aaron Lennon was on the scoresheet for the Toffees in their 3-0 pre-season victory against FC Twente on Wednesday, and it was a huge boost for the player and the Merseyside club after a tough few months.

The 30-year-old was detained under the Mental Health Act by the police in May due to concerns about his welfare and it was unclear at first how long Lennon would be receiving care and treatment for.

However, he reported for the first day of pre-season training earlier this month and is already staking his claim to be involved in the first team ahead of the new campaign by finding the net against the Dutch side in midweek.

While the wide-man has found first team opportunities hard to come by at Goodison Park in recent seasons, he may well be given more chances to make a real impact this term.

Here are three reasons Lennon could have a big part to play for Everton this season…

Quality

Lennon has always provided defenders with a problem because of his pace and dribbling ability, and while it may have just been a pre-season friendly, we saw glimpses of that old form when the 30-year-old found the back of the net.

The winger left a couple of FC Twente defenders trailing in his wake before cutting in and finding the far corner with a low shot.

If the wide-man can continue to have that threat throughout the rest of the pre-season preparations, he will be giving Koeman something to think about.

Lack of wide options

While he only made 13 appearances in all competitions last season – although he missed the final few months of the campaign because of the off-the-field issues – Lennon could be in with a shot of featuring far more than that this term.

Unless they are planning to play new boy Sandro Ramirez out wide, Koeman only has Kevin Mirallas and youngsters Ademola Lookman and Dominic Calvert-Lewin as wingers to pick from, and it should mean that the 30-year-old is given his fair share of opportunities unless things change.

Europa League

If Everton come through their Europa League qualifiers and reach the group stages, their fixture list will become more congested and that can only be a good thing for Lennon.

With Koeman’s men also looking to make progress in the Premier League following a seventh-place finish last season, there is likely to be plenty of rotation between the Thursday to Sunday Europa League and top flight matches and the 30-year-old should get a lot more minutes on the pitch as a result.

Do you agree, Toffees fans? Let us know below.