Everton

BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty has offered up his annual predictions:

12) Everton

Last season: 13th

Everton enter a new era at a magnificent stadium under owners the Friedkin Group and with returning manager David Moyes hoping to build on the revival he inspired in the second half of last term.

And a summer of transfer frustration finally brought the big reward of the potentially game-changing acquisition of Jack Grealish on loan from Manchester City, following Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's arrival from Chelsea.

Grealish has plenty to prove and a World Cup to aim for. Have Everton pulled off a masterstroke?

It was also a statement of intent that defender Jarrad Branthwaite was given a new, long-term contract. He will be vital, as he was last season, along with defensive partner James Tarkowski and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

France Under-21 striker Thierno Barry is a work in progress and may not start, so much now depends on the final two weeks of the transfer window, with right-back still a weakness, and central midfield needing to be bolstered.

Read the full piece

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

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The freshest team this season in the Premier League should be Everton.

The players in Everton's current squad played an average of just 1,847 minutes of football last season - the equivalent of about 21 full games.

Only one player - 35-year-old Senegal midfielder Idrissa Gueye - played more than 4,000 minutes (44 full games).

Only West Ham played fewer games last season than Everton among the current Premier League clubs, as both teams were knocked out of both domestic cups early.

Read the full piece here

Southampton have made a second counter-offer to Everton about forward Tyler Dibling after rejecting three bids from the Toffees for the 19-year-old England Under-21s winger. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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The draw for the second round of the Carabao Cup has been made.

The EFL Cup remains regionalised in the early rounds, with the draw split into Northern and Southern sections until round three.

Here are the ties involving Premier League clubs:

Northern section

Sheffield Wednesday v Leeds United

Burnley v Derby County

Everton v Mansfield Town

Grimsby Town v Manchester United

Sunderland v Huddersfield Town

Southern section

Bournemouth v Brentford

Fulham v Bristol City

Oxford United v Brighton

Wolves v West Ham United

The 23 second-round ties will take place during the week beginning 25 August.

See the full draw over here

Have you got a question about Everton or is there a topic you want more information on? Have you spotted a Blues theme or trend that needs further investigation?

Well, this season we're making it easier for you to get in touch and ask - and we will do our best to use our expertise here at BBC Sport to give you direct answers.

Our team can call upon a network of contacts - including our reporters, pundits and other experts - to find out everything you need to know.

No question is too big or too small, so fire away using the link below and we will answer the best of them throughout the campaign.

Ask about Everton here

And find out more about BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything service here

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We asked for your views on Everton's new loan signing Jack Grealish.

Here are some of your comments:

Danny: This is a great move for Everton, and likewise for Jack. Jack is a superb talent and he wasn't allowed to shine last season for Manchester City. An extremely talented English player with a heart of gold. Give him match time - he will get the confidence and reward the loyalty. The city of Liverpool may just start to turn a shade blue!

Mark: Hmmm, not sure. We now have an unbalanced midfield. Ndiaye as a 10? Alcaraz? Grealish coming in from the left? McNeil? Aznou? What about Iroegbunam? Lots of competition in the centre and on the left. Big hole on the right.

Hodgey: Great to see Everton finally having a good transfer strategy. It has been so long. Some solid and realistic signings for today and with a view to the future. Back to the Everton values and schemes that built the club.

Billy: We had been agonisingly waiting for a few players with clear, proven quality for too long. Grealish, alongside Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is a top signing. Is the reported £12m loan fee steep? Not when you consider the combined fees of last season's tragic loan deals (Harrison and Lindstrom), paired with the fact that Grealish can equally attract revenue and other players to follow him. There is not an abundance of better ways for our new number 18 to introduce himself than away at Leeds in five days' time!

Kevin: What a fantastic signing. For the first time in a long time, I'm looking forward to the 2025-26 season.

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Jack Grealish says "there is only one place he wanted to go" after signing for Everton on a season-long loan from Manchester City.

He says talks with Toffees manager David Moyes were decisive in him choosing to move to Hill Dickinson Stadium.

"I'm over the moon to have signed for Everton - it's massive for me, honestly. This is a great club, with great fans," said the England winger.

"As soon as I spoke to the manager, I knew there was only one place that I wanted to go. On social media, I've been flooded with messages from Everton supporters, so there's that side of it as well and that's another reason why I chose Everton.

"I want to say thank you to the fans for all of the messages I've had already. Thank you for all of the love and support. I hope I can repay you now and I'm sure I will."

Everton boss Moyes said: "I think we're getting him at a good time because he's experienced, he understands the Premier League and we're all fully aware of the levels he's capable of performing to.

"We're all looking forward to working with him and providing a platform for him to show the best version of himself."

Grealish will wear the number 18 shirt and says he chose that number so he could emulate two of his favourite players - Wayne Rooney and Paul Gascoigne.

What do you make of the Toffees new number 18? Excited to see what he can do, or concerned he is a bit of a risk?

Get in touch with your views here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

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After agreeing a deal on Monday, Jack Grealish's loan move from Manchester City to Everton is edging closer.

The 29-year-old's signature is a real coup for David Moyes, but will Grealish be more effective on the left or in a central role for the Toffees?

According to Opta, Moyes commonly employed a 4-2-3-1 formation in the Premier League after returning to Goodison Park last season, doing so 11 times in 19 matches and only really deviating when a back three was used instead.

Grealish has predominantly had a left-sided role during his top-flight career, spending 80% of his 5,698 Premier League playing minutes on the left wing at Manchester City.

In the top flight at Aston Villa, he played on the left 64% of the time, and 20% at number 10.

While Grealish is a statement signing sure to excite supporters, it does create an imbalance in Everton's squad, with the search for a right-winger so far unsuccessful.

Iliman Ndiaye played 2,350 minutes on the left wing last term and finished as the club's top scorer, while Dwight McNeil has also been a key performer in that role.

Should Grealish start on the left it may mean Ndiaye, McNeil and summer signing Carlos Alcaraz competing for the number 10 berth - or one playing out of position until a natural right-winger is recruited.

Moyes typically demands hard work off the ball, so if Grealish plays centrally in a position operated by Abdoulaye Doucoure last season, he may be required to do more defending than perhaps suits his natural game.

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Mike Richards
Fan writer

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The new season is somewhat of a brave new dawn for our football club.

Stuck in what seemed to be a never ending cycle of despair, the start of the new Premier League season feels like an opportunity for Everton to begin the journey to becoming competitive once more.

Our move to Hill Dickinson Stadium will hopefully serve as the catalyst for a much more solid season.

The hope is that we can turn our new home into the intimidating fortress Goodison Park once was.

Combined with an increase in the quality of players arriving, there is a belief that a top-10 finish is achievable.

With the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall confirmed and the imminent arrival of Jack Grealish, it's difficult not to get carried away with what can be achieved.

The summer has been a busy one thus far, although somewhat frustrating for both the manager and fans.

With so many departures, David Moyes had wanted more new faces in, much earlier in the transfer window.

The fear is that so much upheaval - combined with late transfer activity and potential teething problems with the ground move – could lead to a sluggish start to the season.

Each of the first three fixtures before the transfer window close are games we'd expect to pick points up in. They simply can't be thrown away as we await further signings.

Personally, I can't help but hope (and believe) that the dark days of recent times will be put firmly behind us.

Somewhat like a phoenix, Everton will rise from the ashes of mismanagement and off-field troubles, to live up to our motto once more.

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.

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Former Everton captain Izzy Christiansen says Jack Grealish "has a superb opportunity" at Everton, where journalist Rory Smith thinks he may "thrive" as "a main character".

Grealish made just seven starts last season for Manchester City after falling out of favour with Pep Guardiola, but there is widescale optimism that the England international can get his career back on track.

"He has a point to prove, but you can also see that he has maintained a very high level of fitness," said Christiansen on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "To me, that shows he has a lot of intrinsic motivation.

"It didn't work out for him at City but you can't forget what he achieved either in his second year when he helped them win the treble.

"He fell out of favour but he has a superb opportunity now to galvanise his career and under David Moyes' stewardship. I think he can."

Football correspondent for The Observer, Rory Smith added: "I think this is an amazing transfer for everybody. It just works.

"The Premier League is better when you have those maverick talents at clubs who will build teams around them.

"Grealish is a player you want to go and watch. He might not be the most reliable all of the time, but he gets you on the edge of your seat.

"He won't be the difference in every game but there will be matches he will be able to dominate and express himself in.

"There are some players who are their best when they are the star player - even if it means dropping down a level to do so.

"Grealish thrives on being the main character. I am excited to see what he will do in an Everton shirt."

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It's an interesting move because on the face of it, you wouldn't have thought that David Moyes and Jack Grealish were the kind of obvious partnership. Moyes likes to play football in a certain way, he likes payers who work back as well as go forward, and it will be fascinating to see whether or not this works out.

Grealish two years ago was the mainstay of the Manchester City side that won the treble but he's hardly played since then. Moyes is aware of that yet Everton have still pushed this deal through and clearly, if Grealish wants to go to the World Cup in the United States at the end of the season, then he has to start performing at the levels we know he's capable of.

If he does that then you'd assume Everton and Moyes gain from that. But I don't think Moyes will allow Grealish to go and play an expansive style of football and not do any defending.

Everton are interested in Leicester City's 21-year-old Ghana winger Abdul Fatawu after failing with multiple bids for Southampton's England Under-21s winger Tyler Dibling, 19. (Sky Sports), external

Meanwhile, Jack Grealish's loan move from Manchester City to Everton includes a £50m option to buy the 29-year-old England playmaker next summer. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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We asked for your views on whether Everton are ready for the new season after the Toffees completed their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Roma on Saturday.

Here are some of your comments:

Magnus: We are not ready. To me the focus has been wrong and we have not done the business we needed to do. There is only one new first team player in so far that will directly impact the troop. The other signings seem to be very good from the little I have seen but they are not what we currently need. We should have a minimum of three more first team players coming in before the deadline. I think we will but they should in my view have been there before the start of the pre-season. Unfortunately I am afraid we will give a way unnecessary points in the beginning of the season.

Richard: I think Everton are ready. They have a better team this season, although the squad is still a bit thin. I think another experienced signing would help. The bad pre-season never bothers me. Serious stuff starts now.

John: We are nowhere near ready for the season. First of all, we need some signings. Watching O'Brien on the wing was painful. We need a winger (Dibling/Grealish), a right-back, a backup centre half and a midfielder. Secondly, we need to get behind the team at the new stadium. The fans were silent in the second half against Roma. We need to back our players, the coaches and make the stadium intimidating, like Goodison, or else we will get nowhere this season.

Kevin: From memory I can't remember Everton having a great pre-season under Moyes, ever. So, I'm not sure we can gauge how the season will go. Looks like we still need a right back, and potentially a left one too. Forwards were always going to be needed. Are we ready? Probably not, but I do have faith in how we will grow through the season.

Paul: I hope the recruitment team have something up their sleeve because so far they have been very underwhelming. David has asked for players and they've not delivered and the first team are not ready.

Neal: Totally unprepared for the start of the season as I write this. They are probably six or seven bodies short and in that number there needs to be five or six starters. Throwing away a few games at the start is not a good look for the owners and newly formed transfer group. Even if two were signed next week there's a bedding in period so probably the first few games will pass us by. Interesting few weeks ahead.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Jack Grealish has grown more accustomed to sitting on the bench than playing football in recent times so, if his move to Everton is completed, his first task will be to get himself physically and mentally ready to play many more minutes of football than he has for the past two seasons.

Everton were rejuvenated following the appointment of David Moyes in January, climbing up the table to finish 13th, but have struggled to build on that momentum with significant recruitment this summer.

If he arrives, Grealish would be a marquee signing as the Blues count down to their first season at their magnificent new Hill Dickinson Stadium.

England boss Thomas Tuchel has shown with his selections of players such as Marcus Rashford and Kyle Walker that he is not afraid to pick those that are out of favour at their clubs.

That will provide Grealish with hope that the England door has not been fully closed in a World Cup year.

Recapturing his form could well take him across the Atlantic next summer - but if that proves elusive it is likely to bring about more disappointment for him when an England tournament squad is announced.

The ball, therefore, would firmly be in Grealish's court at Everton.

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Everton boss David Moyes was frank after the Merseyside club's pre-season defeat to Roma, acknowledging the team's work is far from finished ahead of the new campaign.

While he praised the promise shown by new signings Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry, Moyes highlighted missed chances and the need for further squad building.

"First half, I thought we were OK but we didn't play well enough in the second half," Moyes said to BBC Radio Merseyside. "We missed a couple of opportunities to get in front; we didn't take them. We have got a lot to do, haven't we?

"I thought Kiernan done well. I thought he gave us some quality, and we could see the difference in his level. Some of the things he did was very good. Really pleased with that part. I thought Thierno Barry had moments as well.

"It's a brilliant football ground, it's a great stadium, and hopefully it gets a chance to see some really good players and teams in the future."

Moyes said he will wait on news of an injury sustained by Vitalii Mykolenko, who left the Roma friendly after 11 minutes, adding: "We'll wait to see what the report says - we've not had chance yet.

"Patterson is getting checked for a hernia and Armstrong picked up a bit of a thigh strain in training."

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England winger Jack Grealish, 29, has agreed to join Everton on loan from Manchester City. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Pre-season is completed and the countdown to the 2025-26 season is on.

It's been a quiet summer at Everton, although the signing of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall this week may have helped David Moyes' mood.

The Blues start the season at Leeds a week on Monday - but do you feel they are ready?

Get in touch

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Everton concluded their pre-season preparations with a 1-0 defeat against Roma in the first full capacity match at the Hill Dickinson stadium.

Matias Soule scored the only goal of the game in the 70th minute in front of more than 50,000 fans at Everton's new home.

Midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall made his debut for the Blues, while Jarrad Branthwaite returned to action after missing the Premier League summer series in the USA with injury.

The result ensures David Moyes' side secured two draws and four losses from six summer friendlies.

They begin the new Premier League season a week on Monday against newly promoted Leeds United at Elland Road