Soccer Football - Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Everton - Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain - November 12, 2022 Everton manager Frank Lampard looks dejected after the match REUTERS/Peter Nicholls EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Journalist Simon Phillips says that Frank Lampard is eyeing ‘major improvements’ in midfield for Everton in the January transfer window.
The Lowdown: Relegation-threatened again
After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, the Goodison Park club are again under real threat of the drop, as they sit just one point and one place above the bottom three in the Premier League.
They have won just one of their last seven games in the top flight, and reinforcements will likely be needed in January in order to try and drag them up the table.
The Latest: Midfielders wanted by Lampard
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Phillips has shared that Lampard wants ‘major improvements’ in Everton midfield ahead of January, and the club are ‘sensing opportunities’ to sign players for cut-price deals.
The journalist said: “They’re sensing opportunities to pick players up on cut-price deals, and the midfield is the main area still where Lampard feels they need major improvements.
“They have signed there in the summer but it’s not really working out with some of the signings.“
The Verdict: Expensive mistakes…
The Merseyside club spent a total of £50m bringing in Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gueye and James Garner in the summer, but the fact that Lampard feels he needs ‘major improvements’ in the middle of the park suggests that he is still not happy with his current options.
Given that Everton have flirted with exceeding Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations this year, that business could prove to be another costly mistake in the long-term, should they find themselves relegated at the end of the season.
Instead of putting all of their efforts into bringing in new players, the Toffees need to put more focus on their recruitment team, and ensure that if a signing is eating into their budget, they must be fully confident that the player will work out.
Everton are in danger of going through a vicious spiral where the more money that is spent on failed signings, the more likely that they will prove detrimental, as these problems are not easy to fix financially.
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