Frank Lampard's comments on Dele Alli from 2017 surface after signing him for Everton

Frank Lampard’s previous comments on Dele Alli have surfaced after he signed the midfielder for Everton on January transfer deadline day.

Dele has joined the Toffees until the summer of 2024, having lost his way at Tottenham over the course of recent seasons.

Lampard will hope he can rekindle the form that Dele showed at the start of his career at Spurs, when he scored a remarkable 46 goals in just three seasons from his position in midfield.

His time at Tottenham nosedived following the 2018 World Cup and he failed to impress under Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo or Antonio Conte.

But Everton have now handed him a lifeline, and it will see him link up with a manager who has previously made no secret of his love for the Englishman.

Back in April 2017, Dele played a starring role in a 4-0 win over Watford, scoring a wonderful curling effort to set his side on their way to three points.

Lampard was gushing in his praise of Dele following that game, as he appeared on Sky Sports show Goals on Sunday.

“Dele Alli is a special player. He’s better than me when I was 20 that’s for sure,” the new Everton boss said.

“He is like a second striker at the moment. But I think that makes sense with the way they player and the quality around the box, he needs to be up there all the time.

“He’s got the knack for runs, he scores great goals, he was running into the six-yard box and too many attacking midfield players get towards the penalty spot and stop and don’t go that extra mile.

“He’s got that bit of leadership. You talk about Hazard being probably the best player in the league, Dele Alli’s not far away from him.

“It’s the runs he makes, when he runs behind people in the box, that’s special, it’s a bit of a gift and he’s got that