Gordon is now thriving at Newcastle, both in the Premier League and Champions League.
Walcott, who retired from playing in 2023, told Amazon Prime: “To be honest, he probably should have played ahead of me when I joined the club and I noticed this young man coming through and I just thought, he’s got just outrageous pace.
“But what I felt was he was kind of restricted and the way he was managed wasn’t right probably at the time. He kind of started to unleash and play with a bit more freedom, play with that energy.
“What I really like about him, he can just adapt anywhere on that front line. I think now you’re starting to see, he’s trying to mould him into the nine because they’ve not been able to replace that number nine right now.
“However, he’s always talented, always wanted to listen to the experienced players, even take in from the younger players. But he was an inspiration as well for the younger players thinking, no, we can be in this Everton team.
“So, for me, he’s got better and better. Yes, he has struggled in the Premier League, I get that. However, there’s moments, but we want more.”