Frank Lampard has opened up on helping Dele Alli rediscover his best form and confidence at Everton this season.
Alli signed for Everton during the January transfer window but endured a difficult first six months with the club, with the midfielder handed just one league start and 332 minutes of Premier League football.
The 26-year-old’s career has suffered a sharp decline in recent seasons, failing to find the former that saw Alli win back-to-back PFA Young Player of the Year awards at Tottenham – including an 18-goal league season in 2016/17.
Lampard has used Alli in a more advanced role in pre-season and is hopeful the 37-cap England international can rediscover his form around goal, as Everton look to cover the loss of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
“It is possible to work with him on being a goalscorer,” Lampard told his pre-match press conference ahead of Everton’s Premier League opener against Chelsea.
“He has an instinct to get in goalscoring positions, and we need to find ways to get him in those positions and probably give him confidence back as well. That’s the reason I brought him to the club.
“We all knew the position [at Spurs]. At the same time, we also knew if we could get him in the sweet spot of where he was then he would be a big asset for us. It’s a clean slate on many levels for everybody this season and for Dele for sure. He’s worked hard in pre-season and he’ll be a very useful player for us if he keeps applying himself in the right way.”
Lampard discussed how he would approach bringing the best from Alli and says he will provide constant ‘support’ as the midfielder looks to reignite his career on Merseyside.
“I think it’s sometimes support and sometimes tough love.
“We will constantly support them because they are young men. If I heard those numbers (about Dele’s goalscoring) and didn’t know the player, and saw 20 goals, 20 goals, five goals, two goals, or whatever, I would say, ‘We’ve got to find a solution’.
“There must be something there which can be physical, or it can be mental. So, I think it is important he has a support mechanism, and not just me, he has to support himself, and the people around him.”
Calvert-Lewin’s knee issue leaves Everton without a recognised centre-forward this weekend, with Richarlison having been sold to Spurs and Salomon Rondon suspended.
Lampard admits the absence of the England international – who struggled with injury problems and made just 15 league starts last season – is a major blow to his side.
“Losing a player like Dominic in the week going into the first game is probably going to affect you,” said Lampard.
“I think we are probably looking at six weeks for the injury. We will have to work around it and other players will have to step up and do the job.”
