I’m happy with the business we’ve done
Lampard calls for calm over transfer inactivity
(below)
FRANK LAMPARD insists he is not panicking despite Everton’s slow progress in the transfer window.
The Toffees boss called for calm as fans’ fears grow over the lack of investment in the squad this summer after they just about beat relegation last season.
Everton have sold Richarlison to Tottenham in a deal worth up to €70m, with the €23m capture of winger Dwight McNeil from Burnley their biggest buy so far.
Defender James Tarkowski has arrived on a free along with wing back Ruben
Vinagre on loan.
Priority
Lampard has earmarked midfield as a priority and wants to bring in two more in that position, with former Blue Idrissa Gana Gueye, who is at Paris St-Germian, one of their targets. Ross Barkley has been ruled out by sources close to the club.
With the season starting early this year due to the winter World Cup, the transfer window will be open for more of the campaign than usual.
And the Toffees boss said: “We came where we did last year for a reason, we lost Richarlison, we’ve lost some players naturally that maybe were on loan here or out of contract so maybe it is a good time for us to take a bit of stock.
“We have to make sure if we want to improve, that firstly we keep working well day to day but we also improve the squad in certain areas.
“It is important to stay calm. The window goes into the season a long way, it’s kind of a strange one.
“It affects people and clubs might not want to move. “Maybe they’re sitting on their hands and waiting to see what things move. It might take a bit of time.”
Lampard insists he is happy with the business the Toffees have done so far, with McNeil marking his debut in a friendly last week against Dynamo Kiev with two goals.
Working
He said: “We are working away. I don’t want to say whether we are confident or not, we are working away at areas we think we can strengthen.
“The business we’ve done so far I’m happy with, we’ve seen snippets of that on the pitch and hopefully we can keep working on the squad to improve in areas we see fit.”
Richarlison’s departure has left
Everton short on goals, with last season’s top scorer with 11 now at Spurs.
Lampard said: “You don’t replace like for like, particularly with Richarlison who was a player who could play in various positions with a certain style.
“It’s not about looking at it exactly that way.
“We do need to consider the season, the endurance test that Premier League is.
“The fact you can have nine subs and five you can bring on, that’s a clear bonus for teams that have squads full of talent.
“We need to do our best to get our version of that.”
‘You don’t replace like for like, particularly Richarlison’