Everton have spent enough money this summer for the conversation to have changed a little.
The question is no longer whether the club are prepared to invest. They clearly are, albeit for obvious reasons, not on the same scale as some of their Premier League brethren.
Around £60m has gone on strengthening David Moyes’ squad, with Brennan Johnson, Hayden Hackney, Christian Norgaard, Merlin Röhl and Tyrique George among the additions (yes, I know Johnson was a swap, so technically cost-neutral).
There has been an element of logic to most of that business. Everton have added players at good ages, strengthened the midfield and resisted the temptation to try and solve every problem by paying inflated fees. As if.
But the squad is not finished. Far from it.
Moyes has said Everton still require “quite a few” additions and, with the new season about to begin, there are four areas in particular that could shape how this summer is eventually judged.
Everton still need to solve the right-back problem
This has been the recurring theme of the window. A little tiring in truth.
Loads of right-backs have been linked with the club, and several have appeared attainable at different stages of the summer. Yet Everton approach the start of the season without the addition Moyes has been looking for.
Sky Sports identified the position as Everton’s main priority earlier this month, while Martin O’Neill confirmed that an approach had been made to Celtic for Alistair Johnston.
The names have changed repeatedly. Djed Spence, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Georgios Vagiannidis, Raoul Bellanova, Rico Lewis and Guéla Doué have all featured in the conversation at one stage or another.
ReadEverton’s summer transfer tracker has followed that search throughout the window.
The number of links tells its own story.
Everton do not simply need another squad player capable of filling in there. They need someone to make the position his own.
Jake O’Brien can fill in there, James Garner has done so before, and Merlin Rohl has had his own turn, but using these players at right-back comes with a cost elsewhere.
O’Brien is naturally a central defender, while Garner and Rohl have become too important in midfield for Everton to regard either as long-term solutions on the flank.
That makes this the clearest piece of unfinished business.
There is also a point at which patience in the market has to produce a result. Everton have been right not to pay whatever selling clubs demand, but beginning another season without addressing a well-known weakness would just be daft.
Does Moyes need another striker?
This is more complicated.
Everton already have Beto and Thierno Barry, so another centre-forward would leave Moyes with three senior options for one position.
The problem is goals.
Sky Sports reported earlier this month that Everton were looking for a more consistent source of them, with Liam Delap among the players they had considered.
That makes sense. Everton cannot afford to spend another season relying on goals arriving from several different areas simply because nobody has taken hold of the centre-forward shirt.
But this is also where clever recruitment matters.
Signing another striker only improves Everton if the player is a clear upgrade or offers something significantly different. Adding another forward of broadly similar quality would increase the numbers without necessarily improving the team.
There may be a stronger argument for using the remaining budget on a forward who can operate centrally and from a wider position.
Everton have been linked with plenty of attacking players already. Our ranking of every Everton transfer rumour this summer shows just how extensive that search has been.
The final decision should be about quality rather than filling another squad place.
Midfield is stronger – but is it complete?
This is one area where Everton unquestionably look better equipped.
Hackney gives Moyes a midfielder comfortable receiving possession and progressing the ball, while Norgaard brings Premier League experience and defensive discipline. Röhl adds another option and, at 24, fits the age profile Everton have increasingly targeted.
The issue is whether the balance is right. And only time will tell.
Idrissa Gana Gueye’s departure removed a specialist ball-winner from the squad. Everton have added good midfielders, but replacing a player does not necessarily mean finding somebody with the same skillset.
There is also the question of availability.
Paul Joyce reported in The Times that Everton’s midfield options have already been affected by fitness issues during pre-season, while the club have made enquiries about further reinforcements.
That does not automatically mean another midfielder has to arrive.
Garner remains a major part of the side and was voted both Everton’s Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season last term. His development changes the equation considerably.
Everton’s task is to decide whether the existing group gives Moyes enough different combinations or whether one more defensively-minded midfielder would leave the squad better balanced.
If another player does arrive, he needs to bring something Everton do not already possess.
Keeping Ndiaye matters as much as another signing
Transfer windows tend to be judged by arrivals.
Everton’s could also be defined by somebody staying. You know who I mean.
Iliman Ndiaye has attracted interest after establishing himself as one of Everton’s most important attacking players, but the club’s position has remained firm.
The latest reporting suggests Everton do not want to sell the Senegal international, and ReadEverton’s transfer tracker continues to list him as staying.
That stance should not change, at least not lightly.
There will always be a price at which a football club has to listen, particularly when the sums involved become ridiculous. But selling Ndiaye this late in the window would create another problem just as Everton are trying to solve the ones they already have.
Replacing a key attacking player is difficult enough in June. Doing it close to the deadline, when selling clubs know both your budget and your urgency, is doubly difficult.
There is a wider point here too.
The Friedkin Group are trying to move Everton away from the cycle that characterised too much of the previous era: recruitment mistakes followed by expensive attempts to correct them.
Our look back at Everton’s worst signings of the Farhad Moshiri era underlined the cost of recruitment without a coherent long-term plan.
This summer has looked different, however frustrating it has been at times.
Everton have invested, but they have also walked away when valuations became silly. They have also targeted younger players alongside proven Premier League experience and have shown little appetite for spending simply for the sake of getting a deal done.
But the final fortnight will test that approach.
Right-back remains the obvious hole. Another attacking player would give Moyes greater flexibility. There is an argument for further midfield protection.
But Everton do not need another long list of names.
They need two or three players who make this team better.
That is the difference between completing the squad and merely completing deals.
The Everton right-back odyssey: A summer of almosts
The Everton right-back odyssey: A summer of almosts
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