Everton have had one of the most impactful January transfer windows in the Premier League this month, making five signings and sacking Rafa Benitez, to replace him with Frank Lampard in a clear effort to improve and give the club the turn-around in their season that they desperately need.
It has been a season of nightmares for Toffees fans, with the side currently just four points off the relegation zone and Lampard's first few Premier League games in charge will surely determine if Everton find themselves in a battle again the drop or whether they can turn the tide, pulling away from the bottom of the table with a run of winning form over the next few games.
One area that has been a major concern for the Merseyside club is their defence, albeit adding two new defenders to their squad in January.
The central defensive positions have been the focus of poor performances, with Yerry Mina only just returning from a long injury spell, the side has relied on Mason Holgate, Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey, who have been unable to stop the side from leaking goals with 35 conceded so far and only three clean sheets kept, with only Newcastle United recording less this season.
Holgate in particular has proven time and time again that he is incapable of offering performances that can be positively impactful in the team, and Lampard should be looking to axe the £64k-per-week dud from starting line ups if he wants to improve the defence in the remainder of the season.
From a red card in a dangerous challenge on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg after just ten minutes on the pitch against Tottenham earlier this season to numerous poor performances that have left the centre back as the worst rated defender in the entire Everton squad this season according to SofaScore.
Lampard masterclass
With that being said, the new Everton boss could drop his first masterclass at Goodison Park by axing Holgate who was criticised for being "lethargic" by Everton journalist, David Prentice, and could form a dynamic defensive duo in Mina and Godfrey instead, with Godfrey offering more positive attributes in his position.
According to Squawka, the 24-year-old has made more tackles, more blocks, won 33 more ground duels and produced over twice as many clearances for the Toffees this season compared to Holgate, so it seems like he would be the best option for building a reliable partnership with Mina over the remaining months of the season.
Lampard will lead his updated Everton side out for the first time in their FA Cup clash against Brentford this weekend, and it will be interesting to see if he includes any of the new signings in his starting lineup and where he will make changes in the previous line-ups we have seen struggling under Benitez.
Either way, it is unlikely to include Holgate, someone let the former manager down on a regular basis.
In other news: Rafa Benitez struck gold with Demarai Gray