Frank Lampard said he would completely understand if Tom Davies was seeking more first team football but insisted the midfielder is "fully involved" in his plans.
The 24-year-old has entered the final six months of his Everton contract and has been the subject of speculation linking him to Rangers. Boss Michael Beale was full of praise for the midfielder when asked about the interest last week.
Davies has suffered a spate of injuries during the 12 months of Lampard's reign and has found himself operating outside what has become the first choice midfield of Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gueye and Alex Iwobi. Ahead of Everton's game with Southampton, Lampard praised Davies as a "fantastic lad" as he maintained he has a role to play this season.
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Everton are open to offers for a number of players during a January transfer window in which there is a focus on securing outgoings - as well as on boosting Lampard's attacking options. No deals are close to completion, it emerged on Friday, and while the club has not confirmed who it would listen to offers for, clubs are considering moves for several players. Michael Keane's knee injury has reduced talk around his future, though he is expected to resume training next week. Mason Holgate is understood to be under the consideration of clubs including Leeds United and Nottingham Forest.
Last week Davies was linked with a possible move to Rangers and Beale said of him and Norwich player Todd Cantwell, also linked with a move to Glasgow: "Tom Davies, he used to kick my Liverpool Under 23s team all around the place. There’s a bit of John Lundstram about him. But again, two really good players. Not confirming anything with those two. But there’s a lot of players we are speaking to at the moment."
The next two games could be significant for Davies and Abdoulaye Doucoure, who is also out of contract in the summer. With a ligament injury set to rule Iwobi out of the game with Southampton and, probably, West Ham United, there is a gap to fill in the centre of the midfield. Doucoure replaced Iwobi at Manchester United last week but Davies started against Brighton and Hove Albion when Onana was suspended - and was also turned to for the Merseyside derby earlier in the campaign. Speculation around Davies's future is not new and he recently told The Athletic: “I love the club and the city but ultimately I want to play games, whether that be at Everton or somewhere else. If I’m not going to get that here, it’s something I’m going to have to think about.”
Asked whether Davies remained part of his plans for this season, Lampard explained: "I've got a really good relationship with Davo, I think he is a fantastic lad. When I came in he was injured, a difficult injury at the back end of last season. He's got a deep care for the club because of coming through here and being local etc so it's a constant conversation between me and him, and the club obviously, but in terms of him being part of the squad this year then yeah, he is fully involved and he is a really good footballer and he is probably at a stage himself where he will go he wants to play, and I get that, at his age, it's really important he plays.
"So that conversation I respect him, I respect where his contract is at but he knows I like him and I think we haven't really got further than that but I will certainly be sitting down and keep talking to him throughout the season."
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