Frank Lampard pays close attention to Richarlison in 1st Everton training session
New Everton manager Frank Lampard has shown particularly close attention to Richarlison in his first Finch Farm training session, says the Liverpool Echo.
The former Chelsea boss took the training pitch on Monday looking to get to work with his new players as quickly as possible, and his priority focus looks have become clear.
It appears that the ex-England international is going to have a hands-on approach towards his players, and it seems like the attacking forces are the ones he sees as needing work straight away.
The Liverpool Echo report: “What’s interesting to see from Finch Farm is just how close Lampard remains to the action as his players get back to business.
“Some images show the new boss crouching down to get a better angle of what some players are doing, while a number of pictures depict the manager keeping a particularly close eye on Richarlison.
“Lampard can also be seen having a separate talk with Anthony Gordon, Andros Townsend and the Brazilian at one stage of the session, perhaps ready to impart some attacking wisdom to them.”
In his image
Nobody would argue that things need to change on the pitch at Goodison fast, but goalscoring has not actually been the biggest issue of late.
Although the club drew a blank in the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa under Duncan Ferguson, they had scored six times in the previous three matches in January.
Granted, two of those matches were league defeats and the third was an extra-time FA Cup victory against lower-league opposition.
The Brazilian scored the Toffees’ last league goal against Norwich, and Gordon netted twice in the game against Brighton, while it was Townsend’s long-range winner that finally downed Hull City in the cup.
Therefore it may be that Lampard has identified the strength of the side and wants to get the most out of it.
This would mesh with his managerial style so far, as his Chelsea side’s goalscoring was generally not seen to be an issue, but his defence did leave questions to be asked.
Everton have certainly been conceding too much recently so it is a risky strategy to attempt to just outscore whatever the defence lets in when you are in a relegation battle, but he has never been a man short on goals.
In other Everton news, the club could be paying up to £40m for this January signing.