The ‘brilliant appointment’ of Frank Lampard can lure in ‘mega transfers’ at Everton after the signings of Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek.
That’s according to former Premier League goalkeeper Paddy Kenny, who was speaking to Football Insider.
The lowdown
Dele and Van de Beek arrived at Goodison Park on the final day of the transfer window, the same day that Lampard was announced as Rafael Benitez’s successor.
The former has been named in the PFA Team of the Year on two occasions – 2015/16 and 2016-17 – and twice landed the Young Player of the Year award.
The latter, meanwhile, was a key part of the Ajax side that was only seconds away from reaching the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League final. He started all but one game on their route to the semis and bagged goals against Juventus and Spurs.
The latest
Kenny says the ‘brilliant’ news of Lampard’s arrival is comparable to that of his former England team-mate Steven Gerrard, who was able to bring Philippe Coutinho from FC Barcelona to Aston Villa last month.
He reckons that Dele may have turned down Everton were it not for his presence in the dugout, and expects more coups in the coming transfer windows.
“It’s the Lampard pulling power,” he told FI.
“It’s just like Gerrard at Aston Villa and him signing Coutinho. Players like Lampard had such amazing careers and they have that pull.
“He’s a brilliant appointment and I would be surprised if Alli had gone to Everton without Lampard.
“With Van de Beek I’m not sure, there were talks last summer so maybe he was more interested in the club as a whole.
“Alli must have had loads of offers but Everton have the money to pay whatever Spurs want over the next few years and their manager was one of the best midfielders we have ever seen.
“I think we will see more mega transfers like that if Lampard stays at Everton.”
The verdict
Everton reaped the rewards of their manager’s status when Carlo Ancelotti was in charge last season.
Ancelotti, a three-time Champions League winner and two-time World Coach of the Year, was instrumental in bringing James Rodriguez from Real Madrid to Goodison Park.
And now, under Lampard, Everton could have a similar edge in the market, so who might his next blockbuster signing be?
Well, perhaps it could be Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller. According to Bild’s Christian Falk, The Blues are already hopeful of snapping up the 32-year-old as he approaches the last year of his contract with the Bundesliga giants, with some reports even claiming Lampard is personally leading the pursuit.
Muller, valued at £22.5million by Transfermarkt, has won a whopping 30 major trophies during his career, including the 2014 World Cup, and will certainly know plenty about Lampard given he scored twice in the game of the Toffees boss’ infamous non-goal against Die Mannschaft.
In other news, Phil Kirkbride loved this man’s performance against Brentford.