EVERTON forgotten star Dele Alli is being lined up to to fill in for injured star Dominic Calvert-Lewin in attack, reports suggest.
Calvert-Lewin has been ruled out for six weeks due to a knee injury and that leaves Toffees manager Frank Lampard without a striker as Salomon Rondon is also suspended.
According to the Daily Mail, Lampard will turn to Alli to play up front as a false nine when the Merseysiders host the boss’ former club Chelsea in their Premier League curtain opener on Saturday.
The versatile midfielder has been struggling to replicate his Tottenham success ever since his arrival at Goodison Park last January.
In the two years before the 2018 World Cup, the 26-year-old scored 27 Premier League goals but he has only managed another 14 since his return from Russia.
The former England international has only amassed one goal in the last two seasons, and it wasn’t for Everton.
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However, it looks like Lampard will have to place his trust on Alli for goals, even though he has yet to hit the back of the net in all of his 11 appearances for the club.
The Chelsea legend is determined to help him find his former self but warned there would be some “tough love” involved.
Lampard said: “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 [Alli’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’.
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“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.”
Lampard added: “Losing a player like Dominic in the week going into the first game is probably going to affect you.
“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.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
