'My point of view' - Frank Lampard addresses Fabian Delph Everton future

Frank Lampard has discussed the importance of Fabian Delph over the remaining matches of the season as the Everton midfielder's contract gets set to run out

Everton manager Frank Lampard is open to discussing Fabian Delph's long-term future at any point before the end of the campaign as the midfielder's current deal with the club gets set to expire.

Delph is under contract until the summer with there being little word on whether he will remain at Goodison Park after that. Injuries have dominated the former Manchester City man's time on Merseyside so far, restricting him to just seven Premier League appearances so far this season.

However, he proved to be crucial in the victory over Manchester United earlier this month and it's widely expected he will keep his place in the starting XI for Wednesday's visit of Leicester City. And Lampard has admitted that he is willing to talk what happens next with Delph - but explained that the priority is keeping the 32-year-old fit for the remaining eight matches, which means managing his training sessions accordingly.

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The Blues boss remarked: “One of the biggest attributes Delphy has outside his playing ability is his honesty. I think that sometimes shocks people, but I actually really like him for it, because you get to the point really quickly.

"And the point with Delphy is can he help us in these eight games by carrying on with what he did against Manchester United, and I’ll happily sit with him and talk about what his future looks like from my point of view. Of course with the club it’s a bigger picture, than from my point of view.

"The first thing is, after his injury problems, we need to keep him focused on being fit for these next eight games to see if we can do that. We manage his training a lot.

"I know that something we are very intent on, and we are good at it as a staff, is we have an understanding as an older player - I say older but he’s not that old, I’m disrespecting him a little bit! - but a player that has had injury issues and is 30 or more, then we have to manage his training.

"And again that’s the beauty of him being honest, because he’ll tell you. Some players don’t really want to give you the honest answer because they want to be involved at the weekend, but Delphy’s more than blunt with you."