Friday, January 28, 2022 at 10:59 PM• Dominic Mostert

Frank Lampard is the new Everton manager. According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, there is a ‘complete agreement’ between the parties involved and Lampard can start immediately. As a result, he will start his first coaching job since his resignation as manager from Chelsea in January 2021. Lampard is the permanent successor of Rafael Benítez who was fired earlier this month.

Everton sacked Benítez on Sunday, January 16, and has been led by interim manager Duncan Ferguson ever since. The current number sixteen of the Premier League wanted to quickly present a successor and sought out Wayne Rooney. The former forward has a rich history as a player at Everton, but is currently with Derby County and did not want to leave mid-season. “I’m sure one day I will be a Premier League manager. It would be great to make my Premier League comeback as Everton manager, but I now have a job at Derby County,” Rooney said on Friday’s weekly Press conference.

Thus Everton was forced to look further. The clubless Vítor Pereira was also a serious candidate. He held talks with Everton owner Farhad Moshiri, but did not seem to be able to count on a warm welcome from the supporters. At Goodison Park the text ‘Pereira out, Lampard in’ was written in graffiti. “This is the first time in my career that I have experienced something like this,” said the former coach of FC Porto and Fenerbahçe, among others, this week. Sky Sports. “My CV speaks for itself, although I don’t think this criticism is aimed at me personally. It is because the club is not in a good position.”

Everton is indeed having a hard time: the Toffees are in 16th place in the Premier League with nineteen points from twenty matches. Only one of the last fourteen league matches has been won. Lampard’s job is to get the club out of the doldrums. The former midfielder coached Derby County in the 2018-19 season and reached the final of the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League. Aston Villa was too strong in that. Lampard then went on to join Chelsea and guided the club to fourth place and the FA Cup final in his first season. He was fired the following season when the Blues ranked ninth in England.