July 23- Last time I wrote about Everton Football Club I was analyzing the signings made in the 2022 Summer Window. It’s a bit of an understatement to say that things are very different at Everton nowadays, but there’s no real other way to word it. Frank Lampard was sacked for Sean Dyche, MSP Capital is joining Farhad Moshiri as owners of the club (not sure I’d want to partner with Farhad in any capacity), and only two signings have been made in the year 2023. All of that being said, the club managed to avoid relegation on the final day with a win over Bournemouth, meaning Dyche is in the midst of a Premier League pre-season. The club is in shambles, but I’m here to talk about what we currently have and where I think improvements are necessary (not that we can afford to do much).

Goalkeepers

GK – Jordan Pickford (29), Joao Virginia (23), Andy Lonergan (39)

Well, Jordan Pickford is a great number one. He’s coming off what may have been his best season and will assuredly start as many matches as possible. Pickford is easily good enough for a top half side, and could even potentially start for European sides. The new contract signed links him with Everton through the 2027 season, and hopefully he’s here through the entire length. Sure, if a team offers an insane number for him, absolutely let him go. Realistically, that isn’t going to happen, so I imagine he’ll be an Everton player for the next few years. Now to look at him as a player, Pickford is a modern goalkeeper. He’s a good shot stopper, can play with the ball at his feet, and has phenomenal passing range. There’s a reason why he was linked to clubs such as Man United and Chelsea during the season. Under Lampard, Everton attempted lots of long passes out of the back at times. Pickford was in the 98th percentile for passing length as a goalkeeper in the Premier League last season. Under Dyche, this is expected to continue, but with more structure and reason behind it. Lampard had Pickford hoofing the ball to Neal Maupay and Demarai Gray to win headers, I can’t imagine Dyche goes into the season with that as a clearance strategy. Obviously, a healthy DCL improves long ball chances, but I think Dyche is more likely to adjust to a potential DCL injury than Lampard was. Starting goalkeeper might be our strongest position and I’m thrilled to have Pickford back there for another campaign.

Looking at the reserve options, Joao Virginia seems the likeliest option to serve as Pickford’s understudy in 2023. Virginia, who spent last season on loan at Cambuur in the Eredivise, is probably not good enough for the Premier League. Virginia only made 17 starts at Cambuur, and he did not perform particularly well in those appearances. I would not want him as the second option under normal circumstances, but Everton has bigger fish to fry in the window than a second keeper at this point. With the departure of Asmir Begovich, what was a relative strength now becomes a solid weakness. Andy Lonergan is a player-coach at this point and will hopefully never play a single minute in an Everton shirt.

Fullbacks

FB – Seamus Coleman (34), Nathan Patterson (21), Vitalii Mykolenko (24), Ashley Young (38)

Where to start with this one, Everton’s first choice fullbacks in the year 2023 might be 34-year-old Seamus Coleman and 38-year-old Ashley Young. That is not ideal. Coleman, who is coming off a terrible injury at the end of the 22-23 season, is probably still a better option than Nathan Patterson. Coleman has lost a good amount of his athleticism at this point, but he’s still a very smart player who shows up in big moments. Patterson has him beat in every physical category (expect aerial ability oddly enough), but just hasn’t shown enough to be trusted as a starter in the Premier League. He doesn’t attack well, his crosses have been poor, his defensive positioning isn’t ready, and Premier League wingers will abuse him in 1v1s. I do have hope for Patterson long term, but man, it would be nice to bring in another right back to allow him a loan in a solid league. That is not going to happen and I think he’s the most likely option to start against Fulham on the opening matchday. This could be a position of weakness again, although there is an interesting candidate in-house that I’ll get to in a bit.

On the left-hand side, I really think Ashley Young is going to be the guy. Dyche clearly didn’t trust Myko down the stretch last year and Young has a lot of the qualities Dyche looks for in his team, old and English. I joke, but historically that is the case. Let’s start with Young, the 38-year-old can play both fullback positions, as well as potentially playing a bit further up if needed. The 38-year-old joined the club on a free transfer from Aston Villa this summer, where he had played primarily as a fullback. I think he’s likely to be a more steady option than Myko, although he is right-footed, which is not exactly what Dyche looks for in fullbacks. Young probably isn’t going to be firing in crosses from the touchline, not that Mykolenko was either, but I think Ashley Young is a more reliable defender at this point. There is this narrative that Mykolenko is a good defender who is useless going forward, and I don’t really agree with either of those points. On his day, Myko has proven that he can pocket elite wingers (see Bukayo Saka in February), but he also had lots of defensive blunders, both in transition and defending in a block. I think he’s an adequate defender who occasionally puts in a decent cross, but I don’t think he’s really good enough for this level. No idea who approved the purchases of he and Patterson, but yikes, they both might need to be fully replaced soon. It was probably Kenwright by the way, GET HIM OUT OF OUR CLUB!

Two other players that should be mentioned in this category are Ben Godfrey and James Garner. No idea if Godfrey will be at the club at the end of the window, but he’s a player who has filled in at both fullback positions in the past. Everyone remembers his performance at leftback against Newcastle last season, which genuinely might have been the worst individual performance I’ve ever seen in an Everton shirt, but I think he’s a fine emergency option to have. I don’t really care for him as a player, which I’ll get to in the next section, but if he’s still here in September he could be a decent 3rd or 4th option at these positions. James Garner might be a weird shout on the surface, but hear me out, he fits Sean Dyche’s profile perfectly. He also was really effective at the U21 Euros with England playing at right-back. Garner is tall, he’s good on the ball, he can defend, and he can really fire in a solid ball to the area. He obviously won’t be as much of a goal threat from the right-back position as he would in midfield, but he’s blocked by four better players there. If I was putting in the team sheet for the opening match against Fulham, I would go with Garner at right-back. His defensive positioning might not be there yet, but with work I think he really could be a good option at the position.

Centrebacks

CB – James Tarkowski (30), Michael Keane (30), Ben Godfrey (25), Mason Holgate (26), Jarrad Branthwaite (21)

I miss Yerry Mina already. Outside of Tark, I don’t know if there’s a single solid option there. I’ll get to each of the others in time, but let’s start with James Tarkowski. Tark is coming off one of the weirder seasons I can think of for a centreback. His stats are kind of insane all over the place because he spent a good chunk of the year effectively being the only defender for Everton. He averaged 2.61 blocks per match last year, and easily lead the league in the category. He was also in the 87th percentile for both clearances and aerials last season, making him a very active player in the Everton defense. Compare that to his 2022 partner, Conor Coady, who refused to ever engage with attackers. For context, Tarkowski averaged 2.68 tackles and interceptions per 90 while Coady averaged 1.20. To provide a bit more context, they primarily played in a 2, meaning Coady wasn’t hiding in the middle of a 3, he just wasn’t making any defense plays last year. Everton declined the option to buy on Coady, which I believe was the right decision. He doesn’t fit a Dyche team and isn’t at this level anymore. Finding an effective partner to Tarkowski has to be the priority right now, whether that’s one of the four contracted centrebacks or an outside option, I don’t know.

Jarrad Branthwaite is a good young prospect. There’s no denying that. He’s left-footed, 21 years old, and stands 6’5.” He’s a huge kid. I think he has all the tools to be a starting left-sided centreback at this level. My only concern is that while he had a successful loan at PSV last season, I’m not sure how much of that experience will translate. Not in terms of quality, but in play style. At PSV, Branthwaite was under much less pressure than he will be at Everton. PSV is one of the better teams in the Eredivise, meaning he wasn’t sitting in a low block trying to win headers like Dyche’s Everton probably will. I hope Branthwaite is the guy here because I’m not sold on any of the other three, but I’m not sure if he’s there yet. This is a wait and see with him, but if there’s an affordable way to get better on the transfer market, I would feel a lot more comfortable.

One of Michael Keane, Ben Godfrey, or Mason Holgate has to leave the club this summer. Holgate seems to be the most likely at this point, which is fine by me, but I’m not convinced by any of these guys. Keane, to me, is the best of the bunch and will probably be here since he’s a Dyche guy, but he’s clearly a limited player. I really love the guy and admire his honesty and openness about his struggles and I actually do hope he stays at the club. He’s also really good in the air, unlike Godfrey and Holgate, which does add value to the squad. As of now, I think he’s probably going to start opening week. Godfrey and Holgate both aren’t good enough. Godfrey relied on his pace and athleticism in the past to great success, but those abilities seem to have disappeared. Not to say he doesn’t have pace anymore, the dude is still crazy fast, but I don’t think his athleticism can make up for his defensive lapses as much anymore and that makes him a liability at times. I think he’s a utility player at this point, which is not great for the rumored total of 25 million pounds we paid for him, great work again Kenwright! But he is a useful guy to have to provide cover. I’d be fine with him staying another year. Holgate is who he is. He’s an undisciplined player who is incredibly frustrating both in and out of possession. He loves attempting long passes when he clearly isn’t great at it and he also LOVES a reckless tackle. I like Mason and wish him nothing but the best, but I don’t really want to see him play for Everton again. He’s just such a frustrating player and I think out of the three New Era clients, he’s the one with the least utility to Everton’s squad. I think he would be a very solid buy for a Championship club and I hope he finds success at whatever level he plays at next.

Midfielders

CM – Idrissa Gueye (33), Abdoulaye Doucoure (30), Amadou Onana (21), James Garner (22), Andre Gomes (29), Jean-Philippe Gbamin (27)

This is easily the strongest position for Everton at the moment. I believe that there are currently four Premier League level starters in the midfield here. I’ll start with the only one who I think is guaranteed to start, Idrissa Gueye. Gana is still one of the better defensive midfielders in the league and is in my opinion one of the first names on the team sheet. A lot of people were frustrated by his mistakes last season, but he’s still a tackling machine and is the most important cog in any midfield combination Dyche puts together. Without Gana’s defensive abilities, the team is a lot worse. Yes, he will occasionally make mistakes and because of his position on the pitch, those mistakes are more likely to hurt, but I don’t think there’s a better option at the club in his position.

Abdoulaye Doucoure is an interesting player. The club picked up his one-year extension at the end of last season to keep him at Everton through 2024. Sean Dyche utilized Doucoure in a more advanced role at times, which I’m not sure is his best position. Doucoure could be very effective in a 2 with Gana, or in a 3 with Gana and Iwobi. I think he probably starts for this team and based on his performances down the stretch last year. He is clearly a good option for Dyche to have.

Onana and Garner go hand-in-hand for me. Not in play style or profile, but that they’re both good young players who can do a job in a Premier League midfield. Onana might not be at the club at the end of the window if a big offer comes in, but if he is, I think he competes with Doucoure for the second midfield position next to Gana. He’s a huge player and having him on the pitch adds another lethal set piece target (albeit not a great header of the ball though) and he’s just an all around decent player. As I mentioned earlier, I think Garner could be an option at right-back this season, but I also expect to see him play as a depth midfielder as well.

Andre Gomes and Jean-Philippe Gbamin should both be off this summer. Gomes is not good enough and doesn’t fit Dyche’s style at all, and Gbamin is unfortunately done from his injuries. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them moved on loan rather than permanent moves, but both will be out of contract next year. Tom Davies was offered a new contract with the club this summer, however, it was rejected back in June. Davies, still unsigned, could be an option to provide deep cover for the midfield at an affordable wage.

Attacking Midfielders

AM – Alex Iwobi (27), Dwight McNeil (23), Demarai Gray (27), Dele Alli (27), Arnaut Danjuma (26)

Alex Iwobi’s contract situation is one of my biggest worries this summer. The team cannot afford to lose him right now and if he leaves the club this summer, I’m not sure how the team creates anything next season. For me, Iwobi needs to be played through the middle. He performed admirably on the right last season under Dyche, but that’s clearly not his best position. He was utilized correctly under Lampard for a bit early in the 2022 season, before Frank moved him to the right for some reason, and he performed extremely well. Having him play in the midfield as the most advanced option, or further up the pitch behind DCL could get the best out of him. I would prefer him on the left side of a midfield where he could combine with McNeil to create chances. He’s our most creative and progressive player. He needs to be at the club when the window closes.

Dwight McNeil is a solid Premier League winger. We saw last season how effective he can be in a Sean Dyche team. He can fire crosses out of nowhere, score goals in and out of the box, and hit good long balls with his left foot. Sure, he’s about as one-footed as it gets, but he’s effective nonetheless. Locked on starter for next year and I think he’ll put in another good campaign.

Demarai Gray is most likely leaving the club this summer. He’s been a great buy for the 1.5 million pounds spent on him, but we would be fools to turn down anything over 10 million for him. He simply doesn’t fit what Sean Dyche wants from his wide players. He’s not particularly direct (although he loves a nice long shot), he dwells on the ball for far too long, is statistically one of the most dispossessed players on the team, and doesn’t do much defending. I’ll miss his occasional moments of insane quality, but I think it’s time to move on. Speaking of which, Dele Alli has to be moved if we don’t renegotiate the terms of his transfer with Spurs. I would love for him to get his career back on track at Everton, but the club can’t afford to let him play enough to figure it out at the moment. If the 20 appearances obligation is removed, he could be a potential attacking option for Dyche, mainly in a second striker role. I wouldn’t bet on that happening though and he’s likely to be out as well.

Everton finalized their second signing of the window today with the loan signing of Arnaut Danjuma from Villareal. Danjuma, who infamously almost joined the club in January, will be an option across all attacking positions. I imagine that as of now, he’s probably starting on the right, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he started through the middle or playing off DCL in a strike partnership. I guess we’ll wait and see where he fits, but there’s no question about his quality. This is a good signing.

Strikers

ST – Dominic Calvert-Lewin (26), Neal Maupay (26), Tom Cannon (20)

Calvert-Lewin has to stay healthy for this team to have any chance. Although Danjuma is probably the best second option we’ve had in years, it’s unlikely that this team can survive another major DCL injury. When he’s fit, he’s a game changer. He perfectly suits what Dyche wants out of a striker and he continues to get better away from goal every season. There’s nothing else to say here, if he’s fit the team has a damn good striker.

Neal Maupay was horrendous last year. I wouldn’t be shocked if he left this summer. He could potentially play in a partnership with Dom, but his finishing has been so bad with Everton. Not that he was ever a great finisher, but it seems as if any confidence he had has disappeared. I’m not sure what role he’ll play for the club this season, it could go a number of ways in the coming weeks. Tom Cannon is reportedly going on loan to Preston in the Championship for the 2023-24 season. It should be a very useful loan spell for Cannon and hopefully he fits into the squad in 2024.

It’s no secret that Everton is looking to add another striker. Preferably someone of a similar mold to Calvert-Lewin. El Bilal Toure from Almeria has been the most commonly linked player, but Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho has also been a name. I wouldn’t hate either of these players joining the club. Toure is younger and much better than Iheanacho, but the Leicester forward would be cheaper. I’d prefer Toure if that’s a real possibility, but I guess we’ll see.

My First Team

Pretty self-explanatory. I think Dyche will most likely start the year with a 4-5-1 or 4-4-1-1 variation with the team. Iwobi would play through the middle in the latter. I think it’s likely the team defends in a 4-5-1 regardless, but a 4-4-2 with Iwobi pressing high is a possibility as well. Mykolenko could go in for Young, Onana for Doucoure, and Danjuma and Iwobi could swap positions here, this is just my personal best lineup. Hopefully Sean Dyche gets the best out of these players and is able to get a few more in the door by the start of the season.