Everton completed the signing of Dwight McNeil from Burnley at the end of July, yet Frank Lampard has already told his new forward threat where he feels the winger must improve.
Dwight McNeil reveals Frank Lampard discussions after Everton transfer
Dwight McNeil has revealed that Frank Lampard has already discussed with the winger the areas he must improve after joining Everton from Burnley for an initial £20m, via quotes by the Liverpool Echo. The 22-year-old also signed a five-year deal to move to Goodison Park.
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Lampard targeted a deal for McNeil as the Toffees boss looked to replace Richarlison, after the Brazilian joined Tottenham Hotspur. The north London outfit agreed to pay an upfront £50m for the 25-year-old, rising up to £60m with add-ons, after his four years in royal blue.
Richarlison was Everton’s top-scorer in the Premier League last season with 10 goals over 30 appearances. He was the only Toffees player to offer double figures, with Demarai Gray and Dominic Calvert-Lewin ranking second with five ahead of Anthony Gordon’s four goals.
McNeil failed to find the back of the net at all as Burnley endured relegation from the top-flight last term. He also only laid on one assist, even though the 22-year-old started 35 and played in all 38 of the Clarets’ Premier League games for a personal haul of 3,112 minutes.
The former England U21 left-winger left Turf Moor for Goodison, having made 134 career Premier League appearances for the club. He also registered seven goals and 17 assists in Lancashire, with a personal-best haul of three goals in 2018/19 and six assists in 2019/20.
Lack of end product disguises Dwight McNeil impact at Turf Moor last term
Yet McNeil’s lack of an end product disguises the impact the new Everton signing made at Turf Moor as Burnley endured relegation last season. SofaScore statistics show the winger ranked seventh throughout the division for accurate crosses, with 42 successful deliveries.
He also ranked second only to Newcastle United’s Allan Saint-Maximin (150) for successful dribbles (90). McNeil further offered 49 key passes and created six big chances, while Gray had the most key passes for Everton (42) and Richarlison created the most big chances (7).
Now, Lampard has told McNeil the areas he must improve to make his transfer to Everton a success. The former Burnley dynamo also knows he needs to have a greater end product.
“I know last season my stats for my position were really low, and obviously coming here it is something to improve on,” McNeil admitted. “I think the manager can help me impact games more this season, and that’s what I want to do.
“He played the game at such a high level and you can see what he achieved throughout his career. I’ve spoken to him about what he wants from me. His compliments were obviously nice to hear, but he also spoke about areas where I need to improve.”
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