Football Season Guide

Everton

In


James Tarkowski (def) free transfer; Jean-Philippe Gbamin (mid) CSKA Moscow – end of loan; Niels Nkounkou (def) Standard Liège – end of loan; Ruben Vinagre (def) Sporting CP - on loan; Dwight McNeil (att) Burnley

Out


Richarlison (att) Tottenham Hotspur; Cenk Tosun (att) released; Jonjoe Kenny (def) released; João Virgínia (gk) SC Cambuur – on loan; Jarrad Branthwaite (def) PSV Eindhoven – on loan; Fabian Delph (mid) released; Andy Lonergan (gk) released; Gylfi Sigurdsson (mid) released; Anwar El Ghazi (att) Aston Villa – end of loan

When the Rafa Benitez experiment finally came to an end, Everton believed that they will manage to easily secure safety. Frank Lampard was appointed as a new coach by the end of January, but the Toffees had to endure the biggest scare of their Premier League tenure yet before finishing 16th, which was their lowest finish in the Premier League since 2003/04. A solid and experienced James Tarkowski joined on a free transfer from relegated Burnley to provide Everton with a major boost in defence. However, the Toffees have yet to strengthen their attack which was dealt a huge blow after the departure of star forward Richarlison to Spurs. Injuries to starters forced Lampard to experiment with his formation over the last stretch of the 2021/22 campaign and it remains to be seen whether he will establish a back-three with the arrival of Tarkowski. He had the opportunity to oversee Everton’s preseason preparations in his bid to put together a solid squad which can return to the top-half of the table. Everton were the worst non-relegated Premier League side last season along with Leeds. However, had it not been for a solid Jordan Pickford between the posts, the Toffees wouldn’t have managed to secure safety. Meanwhile, their main weakness was their defensive struggles, with their 66 goals conceded being the most they’ve ever shipped in a single campaign in the competition.

Target


Financial issues haven’t allowed Everton to proceed with a potential major squad shake-up. Although a team of their calibre should aim for a European spot, a top-half finish would be a more realistic goal for next season.