Frank Lampard unsure on futures of key Everton trio despite securing safety

Frank Lampard said he hopes to keep Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and Jordan Pickford at Goodison Park but admitted he is unsure if Everton’s losses will force them to sell one of their prize assets this summer.

Everton clinched their Premier League status by beating Crystal Palace 3-2 on Thursday and Lampard said discussions about the futures of their key men had been postponed, as he accepted they would have lost them had they been relegated to the Championship.

But they have had financial losses of £370 million over the last three years while the wealthy sponsor Alisher Usmanov, a business partner of owner Farhad Moshiri, has been sanctioned by the British government for his links to Vladimir Putin.

Calvert-Lewin is a mooted target for Arsenal and Newcastle but Lampard wants his big names to stay on Merseyside.

“I hope so,” he said. “Those conversations have been on hold because everyone knew our situation. I am not silly. Players want to play in the Premier League. So now those conversations can start.

“You saw the quality levels of Jordan throughout the season but in the last six weeks particularly, of Dominic [on Thursday], of Richarlison. We want to be successful we want to continue in that way so those conversations can start from now.”

Lampard is waiting to find out if Everton will have to sell before they buy, adding: “I haven’t felt that to be honest. If that is the case, we will sit down and try and work the best way through it. But I have not felt that I have to do this. I know it is a big story, I know FFP [Financial Fair Play]. I genuinely don’t know the details.

“If I had my way let me keep players who perform really well for the club and let us keep far up the table as we can, but we will see about that.”