‘He’s one of the best in the league’ - Everton boss Frank Lampard wary of key Fulham man

Frank Lampard has warned Everton they must wary of threat posed by Aleksandar Mitrovic when they head to Fulham.

Having found the back of the net nine times in 11 appearances this term, the Serbian is just two goals shy of his best-ever Premier League return with 27 games still to go.

Three of Mitrovic's strikes have been scored with his head, and Lampard is fully aware that the forward is dangerous from aerial deliveries.

However, he has challenged his players to both cut off supply lines and match the 28-year-old physically in the box this weekend.

He said: "I think he's a top-level player and for whatever reason previously he hasn't maybe been as prolific but now everything is working for him.

"As an all-round striker he's really strong but crosses are a big threat and it's two-fold: stopping crosses and dealing with balls in the box in dangerous goalscoring areas where he's very difficult to mark if he can get a run on you.

"In the air, he's one of the best players in the league for sure. So we understand the threat, it's up to the lads to stop it.

"There are other threats in the Fulham team but clearly he's a big threat for them."

Extra spice has been added to Saturday's game by the fact that Everton are coming up against one of their former managers in Marco Silva.

But, when asked if he has tapped into his players' insight on the Portuguese, Lampard replied: "No I haven't. I've spoken to a couple of staff members here but not to ask too much about it.

"We do a lot of work on Fulham and how they play and analysis of what they look like this season and I'm not sure too much can go back to that period."