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Everton season preview

By Clemente Lisi

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JULY 27: Leighton Baines of Everton congratulated by his team mates after scoring the winning goal during the UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round, First Leg match between Everton and MFK Ruzomberok at Goodison Park on July 27, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JULY 27: Leighton Baines of Everton congratulated by his team mates after scoring the winning goal during the UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round, First Leg match between Everton and MFK Ruzomberok at Goodison Park on July 27, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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Everton invested heavily over the summer, after selling Romelu Lukaku. But can Ronald Koeman’s side crack the top six?

INS: Jordan Pickford (£25.5 million, Sunderland), Michael Keane (£25.5 million, Burnley), Davy Klaassen (£24.2 million, Ajax), Henry Onyekuru, (£7.2 million, KAS Eupen), Sandro Ramirez (£5.4 million, Malaga), Wayne Rooney (free, Manchester United), Cuco Martina (free, Southampton)

OUTS: Romelu Lukaku (£75.8 million, Manchester United), Gerard Deulofeu (£10.7 million, Barcelona), Tom Cleverley (£8.3 million, Watford), Henry Onyekuru (loan, Anderlecht).

THE STORY: Everton firmly established themselves as the seventh best team in the Premier League in 2016-17. The question now is whether they can make the jump into the top six. They’ve invested heavily over the summer in an effort to do just that.

The headline acquisition is boyhood Toffee Wayne Rooney, who spent the past 13 years with Manchester United. Rooney will turn 32 in October, and was limited to a squad role under Jose Mourinho last season, but he’ll have a big role to play at Goodison Park as the replacement for Romelu Lukaku, who scored 25 league goals last term, 40 percent of Everton’s total.

Ronald Koeman has big expectations for the Englishman, despite his age. “He has a lot of experience,” Koeman told the club’s official website. “He is an important player on the pitch but also important for his teammates and certainly the young players to show them what you need to do to reach that high standard of football. That means he needs to be a leader off the pitch and if I see how he’s working and what he’s doing with all the players it’s really what we want.”

Rooney may be the most famous new name, but he’s far from the only one. Michael Keane, Jordan Pickford, Sandro Ramirez and Davy Klaassen are the other marquee arrivals, and will join a squad many now feel is ready to challenge Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool and the Manchester clubs.

Pickford was excellent in goal for relegated Sunderland last season, and is a big improvement on Maarten Stekelenburg, while the 24-year-old Keane will inject some much-needed youth to a back four anchored by an almost 33-year-old Ashley Williams and an almost 35-year-old Phil Jagielka (both have birthdays this month).

Sandro Ramirez, who came up through the Barcelona academy and scored 14 goals in 30 appearances for Malaga last season, will be the primary goalscoring threat outside of Rooney. But perhaps the most important signing will be Klaassen, the elder statesmen in Ajax’s very young Europa League final-losing side of last season.

Klaasen, 24, scored 14 goals and added 10 assists in the Eredivisie in 2016-17, playing in attacking or, more commonly, central midfield. With Idrissa Gueye and Morgan Schneiderlin likely to start in holding roles for the Toffees, Klaassen will have a lot of responsibility for a side that lacked creativity last season.

The new signings are certainly encouraging, and suggest Everton will have a more balanced attack than they did last year, but it’s hard to say whether it’ll be enough to make a serious run at the top six. The Toffees finished eight points behind sixth-place Manchester United last season, a sizable gap even before you acknowledge United took the last month of the season off as they focused on the Europa League (they won only one of their last six league matches).

With the sides above them all strengthening this summer as well, it would qualify as an upset, and major achievement, if Koeman’s side were to make it into the top six. Realistically, however, an improvement on their 2016-17 points total of 61, and a challenge for the top six that lasts into the final months of the season should be considered a success.

Wayne Rooney of Everton FC during the friendly match between FC Twente and Everton FC at sportpark De Stockakker on July 19, 2017 in De Lutte, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
Wayne Rooney of Everton FC during the friendly match between FC Twente and Everton FC at sportpark De Stockakker on July 19, 2017 in De Lutte, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) /

KEY PLAYERS: The new signings all have big roles to play, but the attacking trio of Rooney, Ramirez and Klaassen are probably the most important. With Lukaku gone, and Ross Barkley likely to follow him soon, Everton’s attack will look completely different than it did last season.

If the new signings gel quickly, that should be a good thing. Lukaku’s an excellent goalscorer, but the team were far too over-reliant on him last season, while it became clear Barkley wasn’t a viable option as a number 10.

The clearest illustration of Everton’s attacking problems is the fact Barkley was their second top league goalscorer with five. Kevin Mirallas and right-back Seamus Coleman were tied for third with four. That’s not a good look for a side with the Toffees’ aspirations.

But there’s no guarantee the new boys’ potential will be able to compensate for Lukaku’s guaranteed goals. Rooney hasn’t cracked double-digits in the league since 2014-15, and isn’t getting any younger, while Klaassen and Ramirez are both young and will need time to adjust to a new league.

Everton appear to have a strong defensive foundation, with the excellent Gueye and Schneiderlin sitting in front of an improved back four, but it’s hard to say exactly how the attack will look with all the new faces.

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MANAGER: Koeman had a solid first season at Goodison Park, guiding the Toffees to a comfortable seventh-place finish. The improvement from the Roberto Martinez days was obvious, but with the new ownership settled and investing heavily this summer, expectations have risen.

Koeman previously managed Southampton, where he led the club to their best-ever Premier League finish (sixth) and points total (63). His Everton bosses are hoping for the same kind of results this season. The problem is the top six sides have improved considerably since then, and for all the money spent, the Toffees still trail behind the league’s true financial elite. Koeman will need to oversee the same sort of transformation Mauricio Pochettino has orchestrated at Tottenham if he wants to bridge the gap.

The Dutchman used a variety of formations last season, including a 4-2-3-1, 3-4-3 and 4-4-2, while Klaassen’s arrival might mean we see a 4-3-3 added to the mix in 2017-18. Whichever formation he settles on, expect Everton to play an attacking, possession-based game.

This is a big season for Koeman, though, who has yet to fully establish himself as an elite manager. In many ways, he’s in exactly the same position as his club: on the brink of the big time, but still waiting for his break. This season should reveal a lot about what we can expect from him in the future.

BEST CASE: The new signings gel quickly, Everton crack the top six and qualify for the Europa League.

WORST CASE: Players don’t live up to the hype, they struggle to replace Lukaku’s goals and the team finish somewhere in the middle of the table.