Everton could have an opportunity to exploit turbulence at other clubs in their first season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Recent transfer windows have been about cobbling together a squad capable of competing in the Premier League on a budget. The priority for the following campaigns has been to protect the club’s top flight status until it can reach the promised land on the Mersey waterfront.
Now that has been achieved, David Moyes wants Everton to be looking up the table - something he has been clear about since his return in January.
Just how Everton were going to achieve that was in question at the start of the summer. The financial stability offered by new owners the Friedkin Group, the regulatory freedom that should have opened up with the new football fiscal year when July began, and the creation of a new leadership team designed to carry the club forward were all major positives.
But the scale of the transition at the club was always going to present challenges. In Carlos Alcaraz and Thierno Barry, Everton have [embarked on the squad-building exercise](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/everton-confirm-thierno-barry-david-32015373) they need but, having said goodbye to a dozen senior players, there remains a lot of work to do.
Add to that the need for new faces to build relationships in the dressing room and at Finch Farm, and the emotions of the switch from Goodison Park to the new ground, and there is plenty for Moyes to mull over as he targets progress from what turned out to be an impressive 13th place finish last season.
For all the excitement this summer rightly brings, finding immediate success amid such change was always going to be a tough ask. The task was heightened by the strength of the clubs Moyes may want to hunt down, with the likes of Bournemouth, Brentford, Nottingham Forest and others all having settled squads with deeper options than the Blues.
That is starting to change as the intensity of the summer steps up and the dominoes begin to fall.
Brentford finished eight points ahead of the Blues last season. A testament to the strength of continuity, the Bees now face an immense period of change that will test the club’s resolve.
Long-term manager Thomas Frank has departed, taking over at Tottenham Hotspur, while captain Christian Norgaard has left for Arsenal. Bryan Mbuemo is sought after by Manchester United amongst others. The club dealt with the departure of Ivan Toney admirably but faces a huge test next season whether Mbuemo stays or goes.
Bournemouth finished level on points with Brentford and are attempting to keep together their impressive attacking options. They have lost the left side of their defence, however, with Milos Kerkez joining Liverpool and Dean Huijsen moving to Real Madrid. Goalkeeper Kepa rejoined Chelsea and has since moved to Arsenal.
Nottingham Forest face the challenge of managing domestic and European campaigns and will have to do so without star man Anthony Elanga after his switch to Newcastle United, while Morgan Gibbs-White could be set to move to Spurs.
Of the clubs they finished above, Champions League qualification has boosted Spurs’s spending power and ambitions for the new campaign.
Like Manchester United there will be an expectation they will improve on their dismal domestic seasons.
But Wolves and West Ham are both in flux, having lost important players. Mathues Cunha was central to most of the good things Wolves did in a poor season but has been sold to Old Trafford, while the Hammers have lost Mohammed Kudus to Spurs.
Everton, meanwhile, [have protected their star player](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/inside-story-how-jarrad-branthwaite-31992125) - Jarrad Branthwaite - and are now in a position to build. None of the above will make next season easy. But, for the first time in a long time, the club should be able to enter a campaign looking at which clubs they can hunt down after years of desperately trying to ensure no-one catches them.