Everton and Dele ‘a perfect match’

Everton made two signings on transfer deadline day, and so far both have said all the right things since joining the club on Monday. Donny van de Beek came over on loan from Manchester United and talked about emulating his new manager Frank Lampard’s goalscoring exploits.

After arriving yesterday on Merseyside, Dele Alli for his part spoke glowingly of his new manager and you get the sense that the loss of belief from his recent managers will be restored by Lampard. He referenced “feeling wanted” and you get the impression that means even more to him than most players who say it. Some see it as a dig at Tottenham but he can only express his feelings the way he sees them and how people interpret them is a matter for others?

Speaking to evertontv, Dele said -

“It is a perfect match and I can’t wait to get going. Speaking to the owners and manager and some of the players… we are heading in the same direction, we want to look forward, and that is how I am as a person.

“I don’t ever think anything is enough. You want to achieve as much as you can, score as many goals and get as many wins as you can. To keep building and heading in the right direction. It’s what the Club wants and what I want, too.”

There might be no love lost between the fans of Spurs and Chelsea, but Dele seems genuinely fond of the Stamford Bridge icon.

“Frank is an amazing manager and an amazing person. He knows me very well as a player, I know him and his tactics and how he likes his teams to work.

“I can learn so much from him. He scored a lot of goals from midfield, I will speak to him about that and the way he fought on the pitch and what he did to make the most of his talent.”

About joining the Toffees, who used some financial wizardry to be able to spend the money to bring Dele up from north London, the 25-year-old was very complimentary of the club’s leadership.

“The owner and Chairman were the first people I spoke to. I felt very comfortable and confident and wanted. As a player, the main thing is to feel wanted.

“Especially as an attacking and creative player, you want to know you can express yourself and bring excitement to the game, with and without the ball.

“That’s what I want to do and the kind of player I am.”

“Perfect match” and “good spot” are two expressions used by our new midfield men which may live long with Toffees supporters. The joy at joining up with Lampard seems totally genuine, the fresh start for the pair is something they may just relish. The potential rewards for Everton and both men are there.

Both will have their eyes on securing places in their respective nations’ World Cup squads. Dele Alli’s challenge seems slightly harder given his two-year absence from the England set up but this “perfect match” might yet turn out to be even more perfect than our new signing ever imagined. The incentive is there, we need a firing Dele Alli as much as he needs us.

The air of optimism is palpable right now around Goodison Park and Dele Alli giving his first interview today went a long way to inflate it even more. Watch this space!