By George Overhill

5th Aug, 2022 | 1:10pm

Richard Keys makes damning Everton prediction for new Premier League season

Everton are “simply not good enough” and Frank Lampard knows it as the new season kicks off, according to a prediction from Richard Keys.

The summer has been a frustrating one for many reasons, coming off the back of a season which saw the Toffees narrowly escape relegation to the Championship.

Talismanic forward Richarlison was sold to Tottenham and the club struggled to bring in players to strengthen the squad, while a confusing potential takeover fell apart and there were regular reminders of the financial constraints the club have.

A 4-0 preseason loss to Minnesota United was arguably the low point of the entire thing, with the manager highly displeased with what he had seen.

But since then things have picked up significantly, with a win in the next game against Blackpool and the transfer window suddenly firing into life with new arrivals, and the likelihood of even more exciting ones still to come, but that isn’t enough for the beIN Sports anchor as he assessed each team’s chances this year.

Writing in his latest blog post Keys said: “Frank Lampard has got it all on. He’s already called it. He knows it’s going to be a long season. Everton simply aren’t good enough. I fear for them.”

Anticipation

Only a few weeks ago there likely wouldn’t have been too many Toffees fans who would have disagreed, even if they weren’t happy with who they were agreeing with.

The absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a major kick in the teeth considering his own struggles last season and the lack of firepower available to replace him.

But the imminent arrivals of Idrissa Gueye and Amadou Onana, soon after the double-signing of Ruben Vinagre and Dwight McNeil have lifted the club.

Now that the transfer window has belatedly exploded, with the manager still hoping to add further targets, there is reason to be positive about the club’s chances this year.

So the complete doom and gloom Keys seems a bit presumptuous, but the proof will be in the opening few results.

Should they go badly, and especially if scoring goals proves to be a major weakness, it will highlight the negatives of the summer rather than the positives.

While defence, and likely soon midfield, should be stronger, the attack is definitely looking weaker than during the mess of the 2021/22 season, so Lampard will have to hope he can make do until a striker is presumably signed.