Journalist Paul Brown insists that he has “reservations” over a deal to appoint Frank Lampard at Everton because he is comparable to Roberto Martinez.

The club have reportedly placed the ex-England international on their shortlist as they bid to replace Rafael Benitez.

What’s the latest with Everton?

The Toffees sacked Benitez earlier this month and are now seemingly on the verge of appointing his replacement.

The club are currently sitting 16th in the Premier League table, just four points clear of the relegation zone.

Duncan Ferguson was in interim charge at the weekend as the Toffees lost 1-0 to Aston Villa at Goodison Park.

The Guardian has reported that the Scot is set for a third and final interview with the Toffees over him potentially earning the permanent role at the club.

But he is joined by Portuguese manager Vitor Pereira and Lampard, who has been out of work since leaving Chelsea last year, as the club close in on a lead candidate. 

Lampard was sacked by the Blues in January, having won once in five Premier League matches, with the club in ninth place in the league.

That came after a huge spend in the summer prior, when over £220m was spent on the likes of Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, and Ben Chilwell.

Brown has pointed out that the Blues struggled at the back end of his tenure, as their style of play devolved into slow build-up play and a general lack of dynamism.

It was different to his first season, when Chelsea qualified for the Champions League after finishing in the top four.

What has Brown said?

Speaking to GiveMeSport, he said: “I have reservations because I remember how it ended at Chelsea. There’s a bit of a similarity between Lampard at Chelsea and Martinez at Everton.

“Lampard started really well, came into the club when they were in a difficult position at a difficult time, galvanised them, got them playing some great stuff, integrated some new players and won a lot of plaudits but by the end, I think teams had started to work him out and he was struggling to get the team playing with the same sort of dynamism.

“It had become very, very one dimensional, very slow, and all of the good stuff that had happened the season before had ground to a halt.”

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Is Lampard a good potential appointment?

He’s a risk.

Lampard has only ever managed Derby County and Chelsea and his success has been somewhat limited.

He has guided the Blues to Europe and into the FA Cup final, but he could not take Derby out of the Championship and into the Premier League.

The ex-England star has also been out of work for over a year.

Given that Ferguson is also on the shortlist, and he has experience of genuinely galvanising the Toffees squad, one has to think that the Scot ought to be the frontrunner.