David Moyes was speaking ahead of his side's game against Leeds United on Monday night
David Moyes is feeling good about Everton’s chances of making progress this season even though he has experienced frustration in the transfer market. The Blues boss has admitted the summer has been more challenging than he anticipated, with his side’s inability to offer European football a key factor in the struggle to recruit as quickly as hoped.
Everton have still made seven summer signings, with confirmation on Friday night that Wales international Tom King had made the switch from Wolves, joining a goalkeeping unit that includes Jordan Pickford, Mark Travers and Harry Tyrer. There remains work to do, with Moyes short of options on the right - in attack and defence.
He said he would like at least three more additions before the end of the summer transfer window. That is in addition to King, with right wing, right back and central midfield deemed areas the club should target.
Asked whether he believed this season would require patience given the scale of the rebuild he is undertaking, and the move to Hill Dickinson Stadium, Moyes remained optimistic.
The Scot, who returned in January with Everton mired in a relegation fight, said: “If you'd said to us we were in this position last year, you'd have said we'll take this all day long, so we've got to watch that we don't get too far ahead. But I think having new ownership and a new stadium, we all want to be positive.”
Moyes believes his squad is moving towards an improvement on last season’s - at least before the injuries that have disrupted his plans on the eve of the new campaign.
Jarrad Branthwaite will miss the opening games of the season with a hamstring injury while he said Vitalii Mykolenko is a “maybe” for the curtain raiser with Leeds United on Monday.
Moyes continued: “I'm positive, I've got a good feeling… Injuries might weaken me a little bit at the moment but I don't think I've weakened my squad, I think if anything we've added to it and if we can do as well as we finished last season with the additions then we'll be doing well.”
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