MEDIA WATCH

What The Papers Say - 20 April

The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do not necessarily reflect the views of Everton.

The Liverpool Echo leads on quotes from Frank Lampard's pre-match press conference where the Everton boss discussed the importance of Fabian Delph to his side.

Delph - who was instrumental in the 1-0 home win over Manchester United last time out - is in line to feature again for tonight's clash against Leicester City at Goodison Park.

Speaking with the media Lampard said: "One of the biggest attributes Delphy has outside his playing ability is his honesty. I think that sometimes shocks people, but I actually really like him for it, because you get to the point really quickly.

"And the point with Delphy is can he help us in these eight games by carrying on with what he did against Manchester United? I’ll happily sit with him and talk about what his future looks like from my point of view.

"The first thing is, after his injury problems, we need to keep him focused on being fit for these next eight games to see if we can do that. We manage his training a lot.

"I know that something we are very intent on, and we are good at it as a staff, is we have an understanding as an older player - I say older but he’s not that old, I’m disrespecting him a little bit! - but a player that has had injury issues and is 30 or more, then we have to manage his training.

"And again that’s the beauty of him being honest, because he’ll tell you. Some players don’t really want to give you the honest answer because they want to be involved at the weekend, but Delphy’s more than blunt with you."

The Guardian also draws quotes from Lampard's press conference as he reacted to the departure of Sean Dyche from Burnley.

The Everton manager warned that complacency must not settle in as his side prepare for the final eight games of the season.

"I wish Sean [Dyche] all the best," Lampard expressed. “In terms of what it means for Burnley going forward, nobody knows. You can go through history and see there have been good reactions to change and not so good reactions to changes. It doesn’t affect Everton.

“I saw a quote this week saying we’ve been let off the hook because this happened. I don’t see how. It doesn’t change anything. Burnley are a good team and Burnley are used to fighting to stay in the Premier League. That fact will remain the same.”

In transfer news, the Edinburgh Evening News expects Heart of Midlothian to extend the loan spell for Ellis Simms for the 2022/23 season.

The 21-year-old has scored five goals in 15 appearances with the Edinburgh side, including an effort against local rivals, Hibernian in the Scottish Cup semi-final last weekend.

Simms' contract with the Blues runs until the summer of 2024.

Finally, Everton are said to be interested in re-signing Ross Barkley this summer, according to 90min.

The Everton Academy graduate's deal with Chelsea runs until 2023, but he is expected to depart Stamford Bridge this year.

Barkley made 150 league appearances for the Blues before leaving for Chelsea in 2018.