Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas sets out what he would like to see as pre-season develops
David Moyes during this week's Everton training camp in Scotland
David Moyes during this week's Everton training camp in Scotland
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Everton are back.
Eight weeks on from that final day defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, the Blues will be back in action today as they launch their pre-season schedule at Dundee FC.
The ECHO will be in attendance at Dens Park after my long drive up from Merseyside on Friday and, as welcome as the summer was when it arrived, I’m looking forward to watching the team step out in that new white, pin-striped away kit. As preparations get properly underway, here is what I am hoping to see over the coming weeks.
A tactical identity
It will be too early to ask this of anyone on Saturday and this is, of course, a game in which the result will not matter. That will be the same all the way through until the season opener at home to Crystal Palace.
But I do think there is a massive contrast between how Everton start this summer compared to last. Twelve months ago, David Moyes approached August with a threadbare squad that gave him little room for anything other than survival as he waited for new recruits.
This summer, he begins with most of his key names. Jarrad Branthwaite is training with the first team, Hayden Hackney, Tyrique George and Merlin Rohl - the three summer signings to date - are all in place and save for his World Cup stars, he can field close to his strongest XI.
With this in mind, I am hopeful of seeing an identity emerge over the coming weeks. There is plenty of time for the team to grow together. Last season it felt as though Everton tried to adapt to the situations they were in. This summer, given the talent already at Finch Farm, it would be great to see a clear tactical approach emerge so Everton can do more to set the tone, pace and style of games where possible.
That should be an ambition given the leadership team put in place by Angus Kinnear has had 10 months+ to prepare a strategy for what they want this Everton side to be.
A genuine opportunity for Tyler Dibling
With Iliman Ndiaye yet to return and Jack Grealish having gone back to Manchester City, for now at least, I really hope to see Moyes persevere with Tyler Dibling. I think there were numerous factors that led to his struggles last season but I do not believe any of them have to be insurmountable.
This is a massive summer for the winger and I am hopeful a full pre-season in which he can get plenty of chances will enable him to breed some confidence to carry into the upcoming campaign. If he could take flight, it would be huge for Everton. Even last year, Moyes opted for square pegs in round holes on the wings - the likes of Harrison Armstrong and Merlin Rohl played out there, while Dwight McNeil also had minutes on the right when his strength is on the opposite side.
I want Dibling and Tyrique George to be given the chance to run riot this summer, just think how exciting Everton would be with those two in form. And if they get exposure and struggle, at least this way everyone would be able to see how Moyes was making his decisions.
A first team look at Braiden Graham
The most likely outcome for Braiden Graham this summer is a loan move designed to get him comfortable with senior football. The teenager has, however, excelled at every challenge he has faced so far since joining from Linfield - where he made his first team debut aged just 15.
In his first season at Everton, he was prolific in the U18s. Last season, he was prolific with the U21s. I could understand Moyes’ reservations with using him towards the end of last season and I could understand if they continued into this campaign. But in the early weeks of pre-season, it would be fascinating to take a look at Graham, who has been training in the first team this week.
A coherent central midfield
The arrival of Hackney and the departure, unless fresh terms can be agreed, of Idrissa Gueye means Everton’s midfield already has a new look this summer. I expect that to change further - Carlos Alcaraz and Tim Iroegbunam have attracted interest, while Everton have considered options for a defensive midfielder, which I believe they need.
Right now, there are plenty of players vying for a spot in Moyes’ first XI and it will be intriguing to see where he goes. As positive as Rohl was against Manchester City, I don’t think he should be regularly utilised as a winger. I am also keen to see Harrison Armstrong kept within the fold unless a loan move to a good European side could be agreed - the type in which he genuinely develops towards a player who is central to this club.
More than anything, I hope to see a clear plan for how the midfield will be utilised. I’d be quite keen to see Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall drop deeper, for instance, while I hope Rohl does not get pushed into an attacking midfield role unless his technical attributes match his physical ones.
A new right back.
This one needs no explanation!