Football Season Guide

Everton fired coach Frank Lampard in January with the team sitting second-bottom in the Premier League table. One day before the January transfer window slammed shut, former Burnley manager Sean Dyche was assigned with the task to help the team avoid relegation. Mission accomplished for Dyche, as Everton narrowly secured safety, earning him the opportunity to coach the Toffees for a full season. Everton have been rather quiet in the summer transfer window. They did sign forward Arnaut Danjuma on loan to strengthen their attack, but their only other signing for the time being is experienced full-back Ashley Young, who has joined on a free transfer. Meanwhile, they’ve offloaded seven players, none of whom was considered a starter last season. This means that Dyche has kept the team’s spine intact and he is trying to benefit from the pre-season training camp in order work on what he has. The club are currently following a strict transfer policy, although they should be expected to further strengthen the team and add depth to the squad. Meanwhile, it has to be noted that Everton boast one of the best Premier League shot-stoppers in Jordan Pickford. Had it not been for the England international, the Toffees may have not secured safety, as Pickford kept eight clean sheets and produced numerous huge saves throughout the last campaign. As for their main weakness, Everton have struggled in attack over the last two years in which injury-prone star Dominic Calvert-Lewin has disputed a total of 34 league games and scored seven goals. Only Wolves scored fewer goals than Everton (34) last season and it is highly doubtful whether an inconsistent Danjuma will help them bounce back in attack.