Everton continued their fine end-of-season form in the Premier League away at Newcastle United on Saturday with a slim 1-0 victory.
This latest win means David Moyes' Toffees have now gone the entirety of May without a defeat in the top-flight as a new, exciting dawn looms on the horizon at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
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Loanee Carlos Alcaraz also saw out his sparkling loan stint on Merseyside by popping up with the winner as a permanent deal between Moyes' men and the South American presumably waits ready on the table.
Alcaraz's performance in numbers
Based on his standout display at St. James' Park alone, the entertaining 22-year-old will surely be a permanent member of Moyes' camp in no time.
The number 24 was constantly trying to catch out an alert Nick Pope with five shots registered on his net in total, but he wouldn't score a trademark, sublime solo strike.
Rather, the tricky Argentine attacker would expertly head home an inviting Vitaliy Mykolenko cross to break the deadlock.
Away from his header completely wrongfooting the Magpies goalkeeper, Alcaraz would also finish the tight contest with 100% of his passes accurately completed in a bid to try and make the visitors' lead more convincing, on top of also winning two duels as a livewire presence just behind Beto.
In an ideal world, a deal to keep the ex-Southampton man around for good will be a formality in the coming weeks as next season's squad begins to take shape.
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He isn't the only figure in Moyes' XI that caught the eye, however, ahead of an exciting new campaign at Everton's impressive state-of-the-art home, with the Scotsman perhaps possessing his next Marouane Fellaini now in this versatile presence.
Moyes' brand new Fellaini
The beloved Toffees manager will be hopeful that the glory days of Fellaini could soon return to Merseyside with their notable upturn in form a big positive to take into the following campaign.
Other Fellaini
When the 33-goal Belgian was regularly scoring goals from the middle of the park - alongside lining up as a makeshift centre-forward - Everton were routinely competing for spots in Europe.
This could well be the aim once more when switching stadiums, with Jake O'Brien potentially the boss' new iteration of the former Toffees icon heading into a fresh era.
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After all, much like Fellaini before him, the number 15 is an imposing yet flexible presence who has an eye for goal, seen in his two efforts this season in league action when slotting into the side as either a right-back or centre-back.
For the trip to the Toon, Moyes would stick with the Irishman as one of his options in the heart of defence. This could well have been a daunting challenge for the Cork-born defender, considering he was tasked with keeping a blistering Alexander Isak quiet. But, he passed the test with flying colours.
O'Brien's performance in numbers
Stat
Minutes played
Goals scored
Assists
Clean sheets
Touches
Accurate passes
Accurate long balls
Clearances
Tackles
Total duels won
Stats by Sofascore
Indeed, alongside help from veteran teammate Michael Keane, Isak would be reduced to only registering two on-target efforts at Pickford's net.
Away from just this individual challenge though and O'Brien stood out as a well-rounded presence at the back for his victorious outfit, with only two of his 23 passes not finding their intended target, alongside showing off his brute strength - much like the 6 foot 4 Belgian used to - when winning a high five duels.
The former Lyon man would subsequently pick up a well-deserved 8/10 post-match rating by Liverpool Echo journalist Chris Beesley, with Beesley stating that the ever-improving 24-year-old 'kicked and headed everything that came his way'.
Fellaini would only get better located at the Toffees after his debut season, meaning even more could soon come from O'Brien as Moyes looks for improvements out of all his troops next campaign, after thankfully turning around his once downtrodden team's fortunes.
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