Lampard was so impressed with £17m Everton player against Leicester

Everton manager Frank Lampard was very impressed with the performance of defender Vitaliy Mykolenko against Leicester yesterday.

It was a disappointing result for The Toffees who fell to a 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park.

Mykolenko has been Lampard’s first-choice left-back ever since arriving from Dynamo Kyiv in January.

There was nothing Mykolenko could do about either Leicester goal yesterday.

Two fantastic finishes from Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes ended up decided the game.

Mykolenko’s performances on the whole have been very positive this season.

Eveton’s defence has been much-improved in this campaign, as Lampard invested in a new spine to the team.

Conor Coady and James Tarkowski have both played brilliantly in the centre of defence.

The back line is now protected by a new pair too, with Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye sitting in front in midfield.

Lampard was impressed with Mykolenko’s contribution yesterday, despite Everton inability to keep a clean sheet.

Lampard impressed with Mykolenko

Speaking after the match, Lampard was asked about the 23-year-old’s contribution: “He was brilliant. An individual with power and quality and defensive attributes and joining in.

“I thought he was fantastic today and a real plus.”

The £17m defender will have a month to continue working under Lampard when the World Cup is on.

He was part of the Ukraine side who narrowly missed out on World Cup qualification in their play-off defeat to Wales.

In particular, he highlighted how he could contribute more going forward in the future.

Lampard may be more worried about the fitness of some of his key players, rather than the performance yesterday.

Everton now have back-to-back trips to Bournemouth to prepare for before the World Cup break begins.