Frank Lampard will be aiming to build his own squad when the transfer window opens on June 10th as he looks ahead to his first full season in charge of Everton.
Last season was better left forgotten by the Goodison Park faithful following a relegation dogfight they eventually retained their Premier League status on the penultimate matchday with a win over Crystal Palace.
There is no doubt improvement is needed, in almost every area of the pitch, and Lampard will surely leave no stone unturned in order to make this role a success.
The club have been linked with players such as James Tarkowski and Christian Eriksen of late, then there appears to be plenty of optimism in the air.
One player that the 43-year-old should be looking to bring in is someone who he knows very well from his days as Chelsea manager.
Everton were linked with Ruben Loftus-Cheek in April as Lampard sought a reunion with the midfielder, but with recent reports linking the “special” player to Serie A side Inter Milan, then Lampard will need to act fast to sign the Englishman.
Chelsea are looking at a €20m (£17m) fee to secure his services and this could be a bargain in the long run.
Loftus-Cheek is compared to Real Madrid star Luka Modric on FBref’s similar player model, with both players having related styles of play and doing the basic things well without much fanfare.
Passing is a big strength for the two, with Loftus-Cheek (90.6%) and Modric (88.1%) having the ability to control the match and create plenty of opportunities for their respective teams.
While scoring goals isn’t the pair's main strength, they both generate over three shot-creating actions per match in order to give themselves a chance at grabbing a goal (3.36 for Loftus-Cheek, 3.23 for Modric).
Defensively, the pair are technically sound and don’t give many fouls away (24 each over the course of the season) showing that they can be excellent without having to give away goalscoring opportunities on a regular basis.
Modric is one of the finest midfielders in the world, and if Lampard has a legitimate chance of signing Loftus-Cheek, then he must act now.