Now for the big stuff.
After over a month of preparation, a trip to Ireland and six pre-season games, Everton will kick off the new campaign at home to Brighton and Hove Albion this Saturday. Despite a steady stream of injuries, the outlook appears to be relatively positive.
Sean Dyche’s side followed up wins over Preston and Motherwell earlier this month with a respectable 1-1 draw at home to Roma on Saturday. New signings such as Tim Iroegbunam, Iliman Ndiaye and Jesper Lindstrom have all, to varying extents, made an impression.
“We’ve had a pretty balanced pre-season with the work that’s been done and the performances,” Dyche said. “We’ve been unlucky with injuries but overall I think we’re in pretty reasonable shape.”
Ahead of Saturday’s Premier League opener, The Athletic takes a look at the big talking points from Everton’s pre-season.
New signings can make Everton more fun
It has been a while since Everton had proper entertainers. With Dyche’s football at the functional end of the spectrum and resources scarce, you have to go back to James Rodriguez or Kevin Mirallas for the last time the squad had players who could genuinely excite fans.
That may have changed, though, with the summer additions of Ndiaye and Lindstrom, both of whom have shown flashes of quality in pre-season.
Ndiaye’s cameo off the bench against Roma was particularly promising; his first touch a pirouette to find space before he unleashed a stinging low drive that was turned behind for a corner.
Almost a wonderful first goal for Iliman Ndiaye after good work by fellow new signings Iroegbunam and Lindstrøm! 😮 pic.twitter.com/LRU3C0eR6g
— Everton (@Everton) August 10, 2024
Another late burst from deep inside his own half saw the Senegalese set up Jack Harrison for a chance on goal.
Lindstrom, meanwhile, netted an impressive free-kick against Preston and has also been a threat in transition.
So far, so good then. For the first time in a while, Everton have options in the final third.
But Dyche now has some decisions to make
The big question now for Dyche is how he uses the new resources at his disposal.
Ndiaye and Lindstrom are both capable of playing in any of the positions behind the striker, but the tried-and-tested trio of Harrison, Dwight McNeil and Abdoulaye Doucoure were preferred from the outset against Roma — a sign Dyche is thinking of playing it safe for now.
The Everton manager is usually cautious when it comes to selection. He tends to prefer the more experienced personnel over newcomers, particularly when they have arrived from abroad and are still adapting.
But with Everton the second-lowest scorers from open play last season and looking to improve their attacking output, the need for something more is obvious. The coaching staff have already made clear this summer their desire for extra variety in Everton’s attacking play.
Lindstrom tangles with Roma’s Stephan El Shaarawy (Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images)
The biggest dilemma comes behind the main striker. At his best, Doucoure almost perfectly straddles the divide between third midfielder and second striker in Dyche’s system. But he himself prefers a deeper role and there can be times when he looks like a square peg in a decidedly round hole. When he is off his game, Everton’s football can look stolid but one-dimensional.
Ndiaye and Harrison have both been tried there this summer, but a move away from Doucoure would require Dyche to shed some caution and move away from one of his main men. The former is more creative and attacking; slicker in transition and more of a goal threat, but less of an option in midfield.
Harrison, meanwhile, offers pressing and work rate while there is also a feeling that there is more to come from him technically. At this stage, Lindstrom has mostly been used from the right.
The No 10 role is set to be a bellwether tactically. And selection in the opening weeks will tell us much more about Dyche wants his Everton side to be this season.
Iroegbunam looks ready to challenge for minutes
Iroegbunam has been the big winner this pre-season. The £9million ($11.5m) summer signing from Aston Villa started each of Everton’s last three friendlies and grew in stature with each game.
The 21-year-old remains a work in progress, particularly when it comes to some of the intricacies of midfield play such as positioning and decision-making. But there is also clear potential in the way he covers ground, wins back possession and drives forward with the ball. He has looked increasingly comfortable taking the ball on the turn and keeping possession, too.
Iroegbunam has impressed since arriving from Villa (Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)
There is a definite sense now that Iroegbunam is further on than anyone would have expected at this point. The plan at the start of the summer almost certainly would have been for Idrissa Gueye, James Garner and Doucoure to shoulder the majority of the midfield burden at first.
But with injuries biting — Garner is still a doubt for next weekend with a calf problem — Iroegbunam has grasped his opportunity.
Few supporters would complain if he partnered Gueye at the heart of midfield against Brighton.
GO DEEPER
Iroegbunam swapped Emery for Dyche: ‘It’s a different style but I’ll adapt and kick on’
Full-back remains a concern
Given the amount of injury problems Everton have had already this summer, Dyche must have winced when captain Seamus Coleman went down with a calf problem half an hour into Saturday’s draw against Roma, before heading straight down the tunnel for treatment.
The early prognosis seemed relatively positive. “I don’t think it’s too serious — the way he came off — but we’ll just have to hope for the best,” Dyche said.
But with fellow right-back Nathan Patterson yet to resume full training, there is now a distinct chance that Everton will head into the season curtain raiser with just two full-back options: 39-year-old Ashley Young and Vitalii Mykolenko, who has had his own injury problems since suffering an ankle injury against Liverpool in April.
Coleman tracks Nicola Zalewski before departing with an injury (Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images)
There has been a feeling that in Coleman, Patterson, Young and Mykolenko, Everton are sufficiently stocked at full-back. Yet summer injuries have left them stretched and highlighted the fragility in certain areas.
Coleman and Young have a combined age of 74, while Patterson and Mykolenko have both had issues over the past 12 months. Currently, there is still an over reliance on Mykolenko, the only genuine left-back option, staying fit for the majority of the season.
There are still nearly three weeks left in the window to iron out any creases, but full-back looks like being a major talking point this campaign unless something changes.
Calvert-Lewin is still the best bet up front… provided he stays
It was a goal that showed just how effective Calvert-Lewin can be when everything clicks.
After beating Roma defender Evan N’Dicka to McNeil’s ball over the top, the Everton striker cut inside and wrong-footed goalkeeper Mile Svilar at the near post.
Goal! DCL levels it up on 61 minutes.
🔵 1-1 🔴 https://t.co/2VsWpyRq02 pic.twitter.com/9WaOMG5qLQ
— Everton (@Everton) August 10, 2024
Calvert-Lewin has always been streaky but is hitting form at just the right time. If the early part of pre-season was most notable for his big misses against Sligo Rovers, Salford City and Coventry City, in recent weeks he has started to hit his stride. Saturday’s goal came after a composed penalty against Preston at the start of the month.
“It’s always good to be hitting the back of the net regularly and, with the pre-season we have had, I am feeling good and feeling strong,” Calvert-Lewin said on Saturday.
On his day, he remains Everton’s most reliable option up top; more refined and more varied in his skill-set than others in the squad. But that’s also what makes the need for a speedy resolution on his future even more important.
As it stands, there has been no progress over a new contract and he is now in the final 12 months of his existing deal. After the collapse of his move to Newcastle United earlier this summer, all options remain on the table.
Calvert-Lewin’s words on Saturday appeared to offer the hint of promise. “We are chomping at the bit, ready to feel that atmosphere — a rocking Goodison,” he said.
But the uncertainty over a guaranteed starter is far from ideal heading into the new season. Everyone could do with some clarity.
(Top photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
