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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Chris Beesley

Frank Lampard confirms Dele Alli talks with 'reality of the situation' admission at Everton

Everton manager Frank Lampard has outlined what Dele Alli needs to do to get into his starting line-up. The England international joined the Blues from Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day – just hours after Lampard was appointed – in a highly-structured deal that while initially a free transfer, could potentially be worth up to £40million.

However, over three months on, the 26-year-old who back in 2018, was calculated to be the most expensive midfielder in the world based on his contemporary transfer value by the prestigious CIES Football Observatory in Switzerland, has yet to start a game for Everton with his 219 minutes of action coming in the form of nine cameo appearances off the substitutes bench.

Asked if he’d spoken to Dele as to why he wasn’t in the team and what his future was beyond the summer, Lampard said: “I have had those discussions with him, he’ll be very clear as to where I am and at the moment I’m much more concerned about the collective getting over the line as a group. If Dele plays his part in these three games then great and he steps up as he’s come on at times and done good things for us.

READ MORE: Frank Lampard confirms Fabian Delph injury with Ben Godfrey and Donny van de Beek updates at Everton

READ MORE: Salomon Rondon gives honest admission on Everton goals and his weight

“It’s an area of the squad where we have other players who have been playing, that’s just the reality of the situation. He needs to just keep training hard and stay really well focused and fight for the opportunity.”

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