Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek tipped for Everton debuts after confirmed news – pundit
Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek could get their first Everton starts against Newcastle tonight, according to Noel Whelan.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed the magnitude of the game could bring the best out of the pair.
Alli and Van de Beek joined Everton on transfer deadline day (31 January), just hours after Frank Lampard was appointed the Toffees’ new manager.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference yesterday (7 February), he confirmed the duo are in the squad for tonight’s game.
The pair watched as the Merseysiders thumped Brentford 4-1 on Saturday to reach the FA Cup fifth round.
Despite the win, Whelan claimed Lampard will be looking for “fresh blood” when his side face relegation rivals Newcastle.
“It’s very difficult to change a winning side, whether it’s FA Cup or Premier League,” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.
“However, I think Frank Lampard will understand the importance of new faces and fresh blood in the side, and he’ll want these two new players to bed into the side as quickly as possible.
“Tonight is the night to do that. Big games bring out big players, and there’s no bigger game than tonight for either side.
“They’ve won the first game under the new boss against Brentford, confidence is high – Lampard will be thinking: ‘why not throw them in?’
“I’m sure whoever is left out will be disappointed. It’s now up to them to fight for their place and really impress.”
Everton sit just four points ahead of 18th-place Newcastle ahead of tonight’s clash at St James’ Park.
The Toffees have games in hand on all but one of the Premier League’s bottom half clubs.
In other news, pundit believes Lampard has already “fixed a big problem” after Everton update.