Everton's 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday emphasised the rekindled spirit with David Moyes at the helm.
Work is still being plied in the hope of finding consistency across the park, but after such a fierce stream of summer departures, the Friedkin Group and Moyes and technical director Angus Kinnear can only be praised for reshaping the squad with talented and committed players.
Everton have 11 points after seven matches, and they are eighth in the standings.
Everton manager David Moyes
However, there are still improvements to be made. Moyes made the point that multiple windows would be needed to lift the squad to the desired, collective standard, and the issues in the final third so far this season have been an illustration of that.
Everton's striker struggles
Dominic Calvert-Lewin left Everton at the end of his contract in June. He played on Merseyside for nine years and was at times considered among the finest strikers in the country.
But injuries and poor form across his final campaigns at Goodison Park made a renewal for the high-salary star difficult. And anyway, Beto had found form in Moyes' system, scoring seven goals in the Premier League before the end of the campaign.
Beto-Everton-Premier-League
Beto has struggled to maintain a purple patch since that burst last spring, and with £27m summer signing Thierno Barry yet to adapt to the English game, the Toffees are being hindered by poor quality in the final third this term.
Even so, Everton have come on leaps and bounds, with the likes of Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye spearheading a sharp upturn in general attacking skill.
If the nines fail to raise their game, there's little question that a new striker will be on the agenda in 2026. With the club going from strength to strength, a focal talisman of the likes of some of the former heavyweights would be nice.
Take, for example, a new version of the man Wayne Rooney believes is Everton's best scorer for two decades.
Everton's finest modern striker
In 2020, when Rooney was interviewed by The Times and asked to name his finest Everton XI of players he's played with, he admitted reluctance not to name Duncan Ferguson as his striker, but Big Dunc had to fall behind another.
Five years is a long time, but it's hard to stake a compelling argument that any who has played for Everton in the intervening years surpasses Romelu Lukaku.
Rooney's finest Everton XI
GK - Nigel Martyn
RB - Seamus Coleman
CB - Phil Jagielka
CB - Sylvain Distin
LB - Leighton Baines
CM - Thomas Graveson
CM - Idrissa Gueye
RW - Tim Cahill
CAM - Marouane Fellaini
LW - Steven Pienaar
CF - Romelu Lukaku
Speaking to The Times, Rooney waxed lyrical over the Belgian: "Lukaku is the best goalscorer Everton have had in the last 20 years. His link-up play isn't the best but he just scores and with his power was another like Fellaini who, when he was on it, was almost impossible to play against.
"I know the fans will expect me to choose Duncan, and as good as he was and as much as I loved him as a player, I can't ignore Lukaku. His goalscoring for Everton was phenomenal."
The hulking centre-forward has wandered across Europe, playing for a vast range of clubs and winning plenty of silverware. However, there's a case to be made that he was at his most fearsome when leading the line at Everton.
A knack for scoring goals was built around the usage of his physical attributes, with powerful, sinewy strength coupled with lethal bursts of pace, darting into dangerous positions and brushing aside defenders.
Romelu Lukaku for English Clubs
Club
Everton
Manchester United
Chelsea
West Brom
Stats via Transfermarkt
Former Blues boss Roberto Martinez once hailed the 32-year-old's "elite brain", proving he was more than just his muscles, and indeed four terms at the club, between 2013 and 2017, saw him hit 20 goals on three occasions, with Martinez also claiming him to be an "iconic figure of Belgian football".
Lukaku
Given that he was sold to Manchester United for an initial £75m fee at the end of that stint, it's hard to argue against Farhad Moshiri and the Blues having hit the jackpot. If only they had better applied the recoup and avoided years of struggle.
Ferguson holds a greater legacy, having played 272 games for Everton and having scored 72 goals, but in terms of sheer quality and wow factor when plying their trade in Liverpool, Rooney's probably fair in his argument that Lukaku takes the cake.
romelu-lukaku-everton-premier-league
How Moyes must long for such a centre-forward now. It's easier said than done, but if the Scotsman can land himself a new version of the powerhouse, this Everton project might just become a whole lot more exciting.