Last season was particularly turbulent for Everton.

Two separate point deductions for breaches of profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) plunged Sean Dyche’s team back into relegation trouble, while the slow collapse of the 777 Partners takeover deal triggered a wave of existential uncertainty off the pitch.

At the end of a season that felt like Everton against the rest of the world, Dyche and his team emerged impressively unscathed.

It would be a surprise if the 2024-25 season was as hectic… but this is Everton we are talking about.

So what do the next nine months have in store for the Merseyside club? Will they leave Goodison Park feeling good? And what will Dyche’s side look like for Saturday’s opening game at home to Brighton & Hove Albion?

Welcome to The athlete‘s season preview for Everton.

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The summer and preseason were…

eventful.

We have seen the Friedkin Group’s takeover bid fail, Amadou Onana, Ben Godfrey and Lewis Dobbin leave the club for a total of £70 million ($88.9 million), and five new players signing.

On the pitch, Dyche’s plans have been hampered by injuries, with ten players missing from last month’s 3-0 friendly defeat to Coventry City. But the positive integration of new players Jesper Lindstrom and Jake O’Brien, and the recent 3-0 win over another Second Division side, Preston North End, at least provide cause for optimism for this weekend’s big kick-off.

Are you in a better position than at the end of last season?

On the field, yes.

Central midfield is a problem following Onana’s departure to Aston Villa and they lack depth at left-back, but O’Brien gives them another quality option in central defence. Lindstrom, on loan from Napoli, and Iliman Ndiaye, the former Sheffield United striker who has joined from Marseille, also represent two attacking game-changers for Dyche.

If the new signings come through quickly, the squad will appear more balanced and diverse than last season.

Which player are you most looking forward to?

I’m going to cheat and pick two: Ndiaye and Lindstrom.

Dyche’s football has been largely effective but functional since his arrival in January last year. He is unlikely to deviate from his principles but Ndiaye and Lindstrom should provide more dynamism and creativity in the final third.

These two players are simply stunning and after a rough few years, Everton fans need to keep an eye on more of them.

The player who wants to prove something is …

Nathan Patterson.

The Scot has failed to secure the right-back spot since arriving from Rangers in January 2022 and has been particularly unlucky with injuries. He turns 23 in October and will need to hit the ground running this season.

Who could have a breakthrough this season?

Youssef Chermiti had impressive performances this summer before suffering the foot injury that will hamper him at the start of the season.

Once he has recovered well from his surgery, the 20-year-old figures he has a chance of playing more regularly. He is quick enough to put opposing defenders under pressure, but can also drop back to link up play. Expectations are high for the Portuguese U21 striker.

The deal they need to close before the window closes

Another central midfielder, especially with Idrissa Gueye and James Garner suffering injuries this summer. Despite all his promise, it would be a huge challenge to rely heavily on new signing Tim Iroegbunam, a 21-year-old who has made just two Premier League appearances for his previous club Villa. As with any young player, he will have his ups and downs.

So another option there, preferably someone with the quality and experience to fight for regular starting places, would be very welcome.

Which player would be an ideal signing for the 2024 European Championship or the Copa America?

I’m starting to lose track of how many times I’ve heard fans calling for James Rodriguez’s return this summer.

Perhaps some feel they missed his best moments in an Everton shirt due to spectator restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, or perhaps it was his standout performance at the Copa America with Colombia. But it’s hard to think of anyone less suited to Dyche’s free-running ethos than the 33-year-old Rodriguez. He’s exactly the kind of profile the club is now actively trying to avoid.

That probably makes me a spoilsport, doesn’t it?

Given the lack of depth in central midfield, 25-year-old Sporting Lisbon and Denmark midfielder Morten Hjulmand would be a more suitable choice in another area of ​​the pitch. That’s my suggestion and not a specific link before any aggregators pounce on it!

The stats to watch this season

We will temporarily enter the territory of the statistics freaks here.

I’ll be keeping an eye on Everton’s difference between expected goals (xG) and actual goals scored – an indicator of the quality of their finishing. Last season they were the Premier League’s biggest underperformers in this area, with their total goals scored a whopping 14 below their xG.

Dyche and his staff know that the gap must be smaller this time.

The game I’m most looking forward to is…

The last Merseyside derby at Goodison in early December.

One last chance to see Everton face their local rivals at the Grand Old Lady before they move to the docks next summer. If it’s anything like last season’s game there – a 2-0 home win – it would be the most fitting farewell.

And yes, maybe I’m a masochist.

How likely is it that the manager will survive the season?

Anything can happen in football, especially at Goodison, but Dyche seems pretty confident.

The way he handled last season and the numerous problems Everton faced was a huge plus for him, a club that also knows it has changed managers far too often in the post-David Moyes era.

Assuming he makes it through to January as expected, he will become the first Everton manager to serve two years in the job since Roberto Martinez, who succeeded Moyes in the summer of 2013.

This is a damning verdict on Farhad Moshiri’s tenure as owner, but also a belated sign that nature may be beginning to heal.

What is your best eleven at this point?

I assume that Dyche usually works new signings slowly and that he wants to find some sort of role for Doucoure, who has been a talisman for him since he arrived.

The right-back, central midfield and wing positions were all undecided…

(4-4-1-1) Pickford; Coleman, Tarkovsky, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Harrison, Gueye, Doucoure, McNeil; Ndiaye; Calvert Lewin.

A good season means…

Stability – or an end to the relegation battle and the turbulence off the pitch of recent years.

Fewer talks about independent commissions and takeover disputes. A year in which a top-class lawyer is not the most important new hire in January.

Countless headers from set pieces by Everton players and a touch of magic from Ndiaye and Lindstrom.

Progress on the pitch and – equally important – in the search for a new owner.

Give us the boring, safe midfield position we’ve all been yearning for, Everton. I beg you.

Expected league finish

I’m predicting 12th place – essentially where Everton would have finished last season without the points deductions.

The 2024-25 league looks tougher on paper, with more established names like Leicester City and Southampton replacing last season’s cannon fodder like Sheffield United, Luton Town and Burnley. But Everton also look stronger after their summer of profiteering.

The goal should be a place in the midfield and a cup win.

(Top photos: Getty Images)