Everton- Finished 10th in 2020/2021 Season on 59 points.
When Carlo Ancelotti was appointed Everton manager last season, the expectation was huge and following a string of positive results they looked the real deal under the coaching of a serial winner. However, Ancelotti's side lost their hunger and fell off coming up to Christmas, with their league position eventually reflecting a rather usual sight for Everton fans. Tenth is a poor finish for Everton, especially given the fact they brought in some incredible players in Allan and James Rodriguez, coupled with Ancelotti's appointment. The question beckoning from last season is what more do Everton need to challenge the top six teams in the league? Granted, Ancelotti left the club rather unceremoniously, but the prospect of returning to Real Madrid was never going to be ignored by the Italian. The huge surprise I suppose is his replacement, Liverpool's former Rafa Benitez, who arrives at the club more so for his managerial pedigree rather than any affection he has towards Everton. Personally, the move does not make sense as many of the stalwart Everton fans will not be overly keen in supporting his tenure, but nonetheless, they must remove their own passions and focus on what Benitez can tactically and philosophically bring to the club. Benitez won't be as adventurous as Ancelotti was and will be keen to patch up the leaky defending that Everton displayed at times last season. Everton's transfer business has also come under criticism, with their arrivals of Andros Townsend, Asmir Begovic and Demarai Gray all having unfulfilled spells in the Premier League. The real hope is that the return of fans and the recent surge of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison will ignite this dissatisfying Everton side, who have all the quality but not the execution in terms of their solidity as a team. Benitez will look to fix this, whichever way he sees fit with the idea of instilling a long-term project rather than a short-term solution being the most reasonable pathway for Everton to work with.
MAJOR TRANSFERS- (subject to change).
IN- Demarai Gray- (Bayer Leverkusen, £1.7 million).
Asmir Begovic- (AFC Bournemouth, undisclosed fee).
Andros Townsend- (Crystal Palace, free transfer).
OUT- Theo Walcott- (Southampton, free transfer).
Joshua King- (Watford, free transfer).
Yannick Bolasie- (released).
Bernard- (Sharjah, undisclosed fee).
Muhamed Besic- (released).
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