Everton’s new manager, Frank Lampard, has been appointed, and Manchester United outcast Donny van de Beek is expected to join him to the Goodison Park.
After the Toffees fans voiced their displeasure with fellow candidate Vitor Pereira, the former Chelsea manager, 43, emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Rafa Benitez last week.
Lampard impressed enough during the club’s final round of interviews on Friday to convince them to put him in charge.
✍️ | Everton Football Club can confirm the appointment of Frank Lampard as the Club’s new manager.
— Everton (@Everton) January 31, 2022
“It is a huge honour for me to represent and manage a club the size and tradition of Everton. I’m very hungry to get started,” Lampard said.
“After speaking to the owner, chairman and the board, I very much felt their passion and ambition. I hope they felt my ambition and how hard I want to work to bring it together.
“You can feel the passion Everton fans have for their club. That will be hugely important. As a team — the competitive level that the Premier League brings and the position we are in the table — we certainly need that. It’s a two-way thing”.
“I think Everton are a unique club in that you can really understand what the fans want to see. The first thing they want is fight and desire and that must always be our baseline.
“My first message to the players will be that we have to do this together. We’ll try to do our job and I know the fans will be there backing us.”
Everton manager Rafa Benitez, 61, was fired earlier this month after a 2-1 defeat at Norwich. The setback was their 11th in the Premier League this season, and it left the Merseysiders uncomfortably staring over their shoulders at the relegation zone.
Lampard, who was fired by Chelsea in January 2021, is largely expected to brighten things up, and Van de Beek’s loan until the end of the season will be a welcome boost. Since joining United for £35 million from Ajax in September 2020, the 24-year-old Dutchman has been a bit-part player.
And he’ll be overjoyed to be back in contention for regular first-team action after failing to impress under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.
Great