As far as goalscoring midfielders go, you’d be hard pressed to find one more ruthlessly efficient than Frank James Lampard.
It is six years now since Lampard last graced the Premier League stage. But it speaks volumes about his longevity and his remarkable productivity that he remains the most prolific midfielder in the competition’s history.
In fact, only four players since 1992 (Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, Andy Cole and former Manchester City team-mate Sergio Aguero) have found the net more regularly than the Chelsea legend.
The excitement that greeted the arrivals of Dele Alli and Donny Van de Beek at Everton, then, was understandable.
Alli and Van de Beek, after all, are two players who share something in common with the new Everton boss.
Both are at their most effective when bursting into the penalty area to finish off chances. Alli, scorer of 28 goals in his first two Premier League seasons, says Lampard was a major factor in his decision to join Everton on deadline-day.
Van de Beek, meanwhile, is relishing the prospect of ‘learning’ from a man who, in his own playing career, boasted a goalscoring record that most centre-forwards would have been proud of.
Could Guus Til thrive under Frank Lampard at Everton?
Lampard famously broke the 20-goal barrier in five successive seasons at Stamford Bridge.
Guus Til, meanwhile, could book himself a place in that exclusive 20-goal club sooner rather than later too. He’s just one away from hitting that milestone for the first time in his career, taking his current tally to 19 with a typically predatory brace in Feyenoord’s 4-0 thrashing of Rotterdam rivals Sparta over the weekend.
TEAMtalk reported in December that Rafa Benitez was weighing up a move for the £15 million Dutch international.
Does Lampard need more goalscorers?
Benitez is little more than a memory these days. Much to the relief of many an Everton supporter. But Lampard could yet keep Til’s chances of a life-changing move to the Premier League alive.
Van de Beek, after all, will return to Old Trafford in July. And there’s no guarantee Alli will rediscover the form that made him one of Europe’s brightest talents.
Til, meanwhile, has thrived for much of this season in a false nine role at Feyenoord. It’s not implausible that the former AZ Alkmaar captain would do a better job of filling in for Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Goodison Park than Richarlison has done of late, all the while providing thrust and a reliable goal-threat from midfield.
If Lampard wants to ensure his popularity remains high at Everton, he’d be well advised to put as much distance between himself and his predecessor as possible. But Guus Til is one Benitez brainchild that Lampard may be tempted to nurture.
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