Everton are reportedly set to appoint Chelsea legend Frank Lampard as their new manager following the sacking of Rafael Benitez earlier this month.
It will be the 42-year-old's first managerial role since he was was sacked by the Blues just over a year ago. He has since been linked to a number of roles including Crystal Palace and Norwich City.
But after impressing Farhad Moshiri, he appears to have beaten the likes of Wayne Rooney and Vitor Pereira, with number one choice Roberto Martinez having to pull out of the race due to his Belgium commitments.
Everton have wasted no time in getting to work on the Lampard era, with Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek already being targeted by the Toffees, according to Mail Online.
He is a player Lampard has already commented on the 26-year-old in the past, and football.london has taken a look at his past verdicts.
During the summer transfer window of 2020, the former Chelsea boss hinted that Loftus-Cheek could be deployed as a No. 10.
"It’s a position [No.10] that Ruben can play for us. We’ve got injuries with [Hakim] Ziyech out and [Christian] Pulisic out as well,’ said Lampard, on deploying Loftus-Cheek in a more advanced role," he told the club's official website in September 2020.
"They are players that will come back and give me lots of options, so it was interesting for me to see Ruben in that number 10 position, he can certainly give us lots in those areas."
A few weeks later, Loftus-Cheek was a topic of conversation in Lampard's pre-match press conference again.
This time, the then Chelsea boss admitted that the midfielder could benefit from time away on loan, shortly before he eventually moved to Fulham for the campaign.
"We hold him in very high regard here, I certainly do, and that could be a good option for him," Lampard said.
"But if it's not the right option, he will be competitive in this squad as well because of the qualities he has and hopefully be a big plus for us, so I am relaxed about it.
"But I want to find the best path for Ruben and I want to find the best path for us, so at the minute we will see with the week we have got ahead of us."
