Frank Lampard delivers verdict on Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Frank Lampard has showered heaps of praise on Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin ahead of their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace.
The Toffees boss has suggested that the club is currently not in a position to replace him with another £50m-rated striker, given their financial situation.
Lampard is currently planning to get the best out of Calvert-Lewin who recently returned to action after a long injury lay-off.
“Dominic is a high level striker, an England striker, a Premier League regular goalscorer with all his natural attributes that we see in terms of the types of goals that he can score, his strengths, his speed, his aerial ability,” said Lampard on Calvert-Lewin, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.
“You have to try and play to the best strengths of that without a doubt and I think also, Dominic is a forward that can connect the game and hold the ball and drop in between lines at times as well.
“So there’s a lot to his game and that’s what we can’t take lightly in terms of how much we’ve missed him because we’re not in a position to replace that with another £50million striker, we’re trying to work in a different way and you want Dominic as a focal point in your team whether it’s the competition between him and Neal (Maupay) or one striker playing off the other, there are options you can work on in training and all these things.
“We haven’t had that so it’s been a big hole for us and the sooner we can work on all those things a bit more regularly, and that Dominic can stay fit, the better for Dominic and much better for the team as well.”
Changes
The Toffees need to bounce back to winning ways after suffering three defeats in a row.
They lost against Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, and need a strong performance against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Lampard has managed to sort out the Everton back line, but their problems upfront need to be properly dealt with.
They are almost toothless upfront, especially away from home. Against the Magpies, it was an awful performance as they failed to have a single shot on target.
To be honest, Lampard has a very poor record away from home, and the mentality within the squad needs to change.
It is about finding the right balance, and Lampard is probably working on that. Calvert-Lewin has missed a lot of football, and he will require time to regain his full sharpness.
Neal Maupay is another option for Lampard, and there could be a temptation to play both of them together.