England manager Roy Hodgson doesn’t have any doubt that MLS is getting a pair of bona fide stars in former English international midfielders Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
Speaking on Monday to SiriusXM show Grumpy Pundits, Hodgson said that Gerrard and Lampard are both still “Premier League standard” and that US soccer will benefit tremendously when they arrive this summer following the completion of the EPL season.
“They were still, I thought, very much in the reckoning for England when they decided to retire [from international play after last summer’s World Cup],” Hodgson said. “It’s fantastic, I think for the football over there [in the USA], which is coming along leaps and bounds.
"I think they’ll profit enormously from players like Stevie and Frank because they’re such good professionals, they’re such good players and they’re still Premier League standard, there’s no question about that.”
Gerrard and Lampard are currently playing big roles for a pair of the EPL’s top teams, with Gerrard scoring five goals in 19 appearances for eighth-place Liverpool and Lampard matching that total in 15 league games for second-place Manchester City.
Lampard will join New York City FC at the conclusion of the Premier League season, while Gerrard – who announced that he will play in the US, but hasn’t revealed which team he’ll sign for – is rumored to be joining the LA Galaxy.
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Both Gerrard and Lampard were on Hodgson’s roster at the 2014 World Cup, with Gerrard starting and captaining England’s first two games and coming off the bench in the Three Lions’ finale, which Lampard started and captained.
“I think when a player comes to a country with such a big name and a big reputation, the fans are going to want to see some goals and they’ll get them from Frank and Stevie,” Hodgson said. “I think where the clubs and the football in the country will benefit even more is from their personality, the work they’ll do as ambassadors off the field and in particular in the work they’ll do with the young players at the club.”
