Everton’s fans have suffered a lot in recent years with their club underperforming under every manager. In the last decade, not even a single manager was able to take Everton to greatness. The situation was the same with Rafa Benitez. He started well. But then, the team’s performance dipped and was sacked after the winless streak. The fans lost their patience, and they even held a banner: “BENITEZ, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB”.
Soon after sacking him, the Everton board started a quick interview to select the next manager who could take Everton from the bottom of the point table. Currently, they are 16th on the Premier League point table.
After the lengthy interview process, the Toffees appointed the Chelsea legend Frank Lampard as their manager. The former England midfielder has agreed to a two-and-a-half-year contract until June 2024 and will take charge of the First Team for the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Brentford at Goodison Park on Saturday, 5 February.
The new Everton manager will be supported by a vastly experienced and talented backroom team made up of Joe Edwards as his Assistant Manager, Paul Clement as First Team Coach and Chris Jones as First Team Coach and Head of Performance.
After appointing him, it was almost sure that Everton would have a busy winter transfer window. Lampard needed some new additions to make the team stronger to survive in the Premier League.
Their two transfers happened almost on the deadline day. They were in talks with Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek and Tottenham’s Dele Alli. The most exciting factor that we can see here is that both these players were not the starters for the club even when they had enormous potential. They were disappointed at their respective clubs’ decision for not giving playing time.
Everton signed Donny van de Beek on loan from Manchester United for the rest of the season. The Netherlands international’s wages will be paid in full by the Toffees, who do not have an option to make his move permanent. Crystal Palace and Valencia were also in talks to sign Van de Beek during the January transfer window. But Lampard convinced van de Beek for a move to Everton.
Another deadline day transfer was Dele Alli, who was not going through a disappointing couple of seasons at Tottenham. After Jose Mourinho’s arrival, he lost prominence in the team.
Dele Alli’s signing was a priority for Lampard, and they signed him from Tottenham for a fee that could reach 40 million pounds. Alli left Tottenham after seven years at the club. After signing the deal, Alli admitted that it was a perfect match with the Toffees, and he will fight for the team and the club.
Lampard has done an appreciable job soon after taking charge. He played a significant role in luring both the players to Goodison Park. This fresh trio of players and the boss will be vital for Everton’s remaining matches. The Toffees have taken just six points from the last 39 on offer. They have not kept a clean sheet since November 7 and have not won away from home in the league since the end of August. Hopefully, the new trio can be the ones to change the momentum at Goodison Park.
