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Lampard Reveals First-Team Chances For Young Talents

Frank Lampard admitted several of Everton's most exciting young prospects have recently shown enough quality to keep them in his immediate First-Team plans.   

Stanley Mills, Isaac Price and Tom Cannon have all been key players for the Under-21s this season and were included in the Everton squad that participated in the Sydney Super Cup in Australia last month along with Reece Welch, Joe Anderson, Seb Quirk and Billy Crellin.

The Blues played two matches during their stay Down Under, firstly sealing a penalty shootout success following a 0-0 draw with Scottish champions Celtic before beating A-League outfit Western Sydney Wanderers 5-1.   

Midfielder Price started both contests and impressed the boss each time, with Lampard saying the 19-year-old was "the best player on the pitch" against Celtic.

The Blues boss revealed the young talents have now put themselves in the frame for when Everton return to competitive action against Wolves on Boxing Day.

“Isaac's been brilliant on the trip,” Lampard told evertontv.   

“He deserved to play because he’s trained great. His energy is amazing. I think you can see that natural energy to his game.  

“Isaac wins a lot of second balls and he’s calm when he gets there, and his passing is impressive, too. When I put him higher on the pitch in the last 20 minutes [against Western Sydney Wanderers], he’s finding lovely little passes in great pockets, which is a bit of a natural knack.”  

Lampard continued: “It’s been a real positive trip for Isaac and he puts himself now in the frame to be in the First-Team squad when the games start.  

“We’ve got a couple of injuries so that’s what young players have to do. When they sniff a chance, they have to take it and he’s taken it this trip."

Lampard was also keen to acknowledge the positive impressions made by Mills and Cannon.

Midfielder Mills came on a second-half substitute in both matches in Sydney, while striker Cannon netted his first senior goal for the Club in the win against Western Sydney, having made his Premier League debut at Bournemouth before the World Cup break.

“Both of them have done great," added Lampard. "Stan’s been great for a long time and he’s training with application, consistency of performance and attitude. The same with Tommy.  

“They’re a delight to coach because they’re low maintenance and they want to play for Everton.  

“They’ve both shown their qualities and again, they’ll be with the First-Team squad in the short-term future.”  


Under-21 Head Coach Paul Tait has also opened up on his delight for the players involved, revealing he’s had great feedback from First-Team staff not only on the players’ recent performances on the pitch but also their behaviour off of it. 
 

“I was delighted for them,” said Tait. “They’ve been doing really well of late in the games and then when they’ve been called upon to go into the First-Team squad, they’ve done really well.   

“I have had good reports back off them, it’s not just about what they do on the pitch, which is really important, of course, but it’s also how well they do around the squad and how they do in and around the tour, how they act.   

“I have had nothing but really good reports back from the First-Team staff so we are delighted.”