Frank Lampard knows Everton need a striker.
He knew that before Dominic Calvert-Lewin suffered a "freak" knee injury just days before the start of the new season. He knew that after Everton failed to score in the club's opening pre-season games in the US - leading him to highlight the forward "void" he felt existed within his squad back in late July.
And he probably knew it even before Richarlison was sold to Tottenham Hotspur in the final days of June. But right now it feels important to stress that Lampard recognises, like most Blues, that Everton need more options up top.
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How do I know this? Because, like several other reporters, I have asked Lampard several times this summer about this topic. This is what he said to me - and other journalists - when I asked on Friday: "Over the course of the season you need options, and not just Dominic... so we could certainly do with more options at the front end of the pitch."
The question is how does he solve that problem? And this is where, as difficult as it may be - and as understandable as the concern is - patience may be crucial. Finding a goalscorer is hard work. It is even harder when, like Lampard, you are operating under financial constraints, you have other clubs - from Manchester United and Chelsea to Wolverhampton Wanderers - all looking for the same thing, and, perhaps adding to that complexity, you need one who is happy to understand that in a few weeks they will likely be an understudy to a striker with realistic ambitions of a spot in England's World Cup squad.
That does not mean Everton supporters should not be frustrated with the current state of the squad. It is definitely frustrating. Ultimately, the Blues have only an own goal to their name from the opening two games of the Premier League season. They have created a handful of good chances but, so far, they have not been taken. And so far they have not even started a game with a recognised striker, Salomon Rondon being selected on the bench against Aston Villa after missing out against Chelsea through suspension. There is every chance that theme continues against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. This is not a desirable set of affairs for Lampard, of course it is not. But context is important.
Yes, Calvert-Lewin struggled with injury last season, but he did look in impressive shape through pre-season. And with Everton's relegation fight having been dominated by injuries at centre-back - and with an injury crisis decimating a midfield Lampard already had concerns over heading into the summer - you can perhaps see why he felt other areas were a priority.
He went on to say, on Friday: "There [were] other areas of the team that we needed to strengthen in my opinion. That's my job here to try and do that - so that's where you are seeing movement in different areas of the team. I certainly feel like we have improved at the back end of the pitch with a free transfer (Tarkowksi) and a loan (Coady) - two international players. So we haven't really spent as such in that area and I feel we have really improved the team. [Amadou] Onana is certainly a player for the now and for the future and I think it was really important we made that statement of being able to get a player at that level who was wanted by a number of clubs."
The striker issue is now "in Everton's face" because of Calvert-Lewin's injury and it is an important one to solve. But one of the reasons the Blues have found themselves in a place of such peril is because so much money has been spent on so many players with little long-term, strategic planning going into those signings. Hundreds of millions of pounds has been spent on players 'for the now', as Lampard might say. Ultimately those signings, made as the club lurched from manager to manager, director of football to director of football, undermined Everton's future and Lampard is now the man trying to make sense of the broken machine that is left.
This summer has not been perfect - of course the club should have more options up top already. But what has been evident in the signings so far is that Lampard and director of football Kevin Thelwell are applying a degree of strategy to their actions. As Lampard said on Friday, that has started at the back end of the pitch rather than up top. But the sign of any strategic thinking at all is a positive one. This summer, majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri called on fans to judge him at the end of this transfer window. Whether supporters believe that is fair is up to them. As difficult as it may be, it is surely fair to wait until then to judge the market moves of Lampard and Thelwell, however. And, right now, they know Everton need a striker.
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