Everton have made real progress with David Moyes back in the manager's seat, but the narrative over the coming seasons will hinge greatly on how the transfer market goes this summer.
The Merseysiders are in a far stronger financial position than this time last year, still reeling from an eight-point deduction in the Premier League and preparing to cash in on the likes of Amadou Onana to Aston Villa for a £50m fee.
Though Moyes will be hoping to retain his prized members, there are one or two who may be plying their trade elsewhere come September.
Everton manager David Moyes celebrates after the match
As we hope that such eventualities won't come to fruition, let's revisit some of the biggest sales across Moyes' sweeping first stint at the Goodison Park helm.
Everton's biggest sales under Moyes
When Moyes ended his 12-year stint at the Everton helm to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, he signed Marouane Fellaini in a deal worth £27.5m.
fellaini-everton
Of course, this Everton sale didn't technically occur under the Scotsman's wing, but it shot up the table to take its spot as the second-highest in the Liverpool-based club's history.
The highest very much happened with Moyes at the head seat, and it also involved Manchester United. In August 2004, the Red Devils landed an 18-year-old Wayne Rooney for £27m, Moyes' protege enticed by the riches of the great Theatre.
Joleon Lescott also moved to Manchester during Moyes' lengthy time in the dugout. The England centre-back signed for newly-rich Manchester City in August 2009 for a £22m fee, ending a Toffees career that spanned 143 appearances.
The majority of outgoing transfer business at Everton this summer will concern players at the end of their contracts, but there is one superstar who may be on the move.
david moyes
If that's the case, it's sure to be the most lucrative sale Moyes has overseen on Merseyside. However, as with Liverpool, who are resigned to losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid in a few months, the Toffees won't want it to happen for sure.
Everton facing their own Trent disaster
Everton's incoming Director of Football, Angus Kinnear, faces as many as 15 first-team players departing at the end of their deals this summer, but a more worrying problem also threatens to disrupt the club's off-season preparations.
Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold
There's also a brewing problem, you may be aware, involving Jarrad Branthwaite. In 2020, the 22-year-old defender joined Everton from Carlisle United in League 2 for a bargain £1m fee. Last season, after a loan move with PSV Eindhoven, he broke into Sean Dyche's Everton set-up and has since become a mainstay.
In fact, he's become one of the most valuable defenders in Europe, with Everton rejecting interest in his signature last summer by demanding payment in the £75m ballpark, which would have made him one of the most expensive defenders in history.
Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite
However, Branthwaite's remarkable qualities have earned the attention of some of the Premier League's finest. According to Sky Sports, Branthwaite is going to consider his Everton future after being snubbed by England manager Thomas Tuchel this month.
Manchester United failed with a series of bids last summer, but concerningly, they remain intrigued, with Liverpool's interest more concerning still.
Jarrad Branthwaite in the Premier League (24/25)
Match Stats
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Stats via Sofascore (* = per game)
Were one of these suitors to succeed in prising the star defender from his place in Moyes' squad, this may well turn into Everton's own Alexander-Arnold disaster, losing a top talent to a rival.
Branthwaite no doubt feels he has been overlooked by Tuchel, and rightly so. But now is the time for The Friedkin Group to prove their ambition and hand Moyes and Kinnear the requisite tools to make a flurry of impactful signings this summer, convincing Branthwaite to stay put as the centrepiece of the budding project.
jarrad branthwaite
Replacing Branthwaite this summer would be no easy feat, certainly not when so much resource must be invested in various other areas of the field.
Everton need to make sure the unthinkable doesn't happen, else Moyes' exciting return and the switch to Bramley Moore may not hit the heights nervously anticipated after the terrific improvements of recent months.
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