PL 16/17 Predictions Series: Everton

My new series looks at the participants of the latest Premier League season. For previous posts, see below:

Arsenal, Bournemouth, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Chelsea

Last season
Overall, it's another year of disappointment for the Goodison Park faithful, who felt that the 11th place return did not represent the potential of the squad - 13 points behind their city rivals. Though the club did reach the semi-finals of both the League and FA Cups, losing out narrowly to both Manchester clubs, Roberto Martinez was deemed surplus to requirements after poor league form.

Backroom setup
As mentioned, Martinez, who enjoyed an outstanding first season at Everton, finishing 5th, could not survive the second 11th place finish in two years. However, Bill Kenwright moved quickly to replace the Spaniard, bringing in Ronald Koeman from Southampton for an estimated fee of £5m. The Dutchman had enjoyed a hugely successful year at the Saints, and had demonstrated his ability to sign players with a relatively small budget, securing the signings of the likes of Sadio Mane, Dusan Tadic, Graziano Pelle and Fraser Forster.

In addition, the Toffees pulled off a coup, poaching the Leicester talent spotter Steve Walsh, behind some of the key individuals at the heart of their Premier League success: N'Golo Kante, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez.

Pre-season
The Koeman era certainly got off to a strong start, with successive victories against Czech side Jablonec, Barnsley and the MK Dons, conceding just one goal and scoring seven. However, their pre-season has hit the buffers in recent matches, with two games in Dresden yielding a draw and a defeat to Real Betis and Dynamo Dresden respectively. However, Gerard Deulofeu's early form will have pleased Koeman, with three goals in four games putting him in a good place for the start of the season.

The final games will have done little to lighten the mood at Goodison. I think the best thing I can say about the Wayne Rooney testimonial is that Everton played in it, while they finished their pre-season with a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Espanyol. With no win in four, it's hardly the form Everton will be looking for to start the year!

Squad and signings
Bubbling but not yet reached the boiling. With just the signings of Dutch international Maarten Stekelenburg and Idrissa Gueye to show for their efforts so far in terms of first team players, I'm convinced that more will be coming over the next few weeks. There have been strong links to both Ashley Williams and Yannick Bolasie over recent days, which indicates their intention, but they will be keen to get something completed quickly to bed them in.

However, as with so many mid-table Premier League clubs, much will depend on the outgoings. To date, Everton have looked to clear out many of the ageing stars that have carried them through the last five seasons, with Tim Howard returning to America with the Colorado Rapids, and Leon Osman, Tony Hibbert and Steven Pienaar all being shown the door. With John Stones also making a £47.5m switch to Manchester City, Everton now have plenty of funds to play with, so expect some fireworks over the coming weeks as the club look to take advantage.

Tactics
It will be interesting to see how Everton's on field play changes with the appointment of Koeman. There are certainly similarities with the Dutchman's Southampton side, with a number of flair midfielders and a big target man of a striker. We may see Ross Barkley given more freedom to become a Sadio Mane type attacking midfielder, while Lukaku will likely be given less balls to run onto and more heading to do as Lennon and Deulofeu look to whip crosses in. In addition, Baines and Coleman are likely to be given even more license to get forward to mirror Cedric and Bertrand for the Saints last year.

Predictions
There is no doubt that Everton have the talent to break into the top 10 consistently, and now they have a manager capable of taking them there. However, I would have to say that they need to make a couple of solid additions before their squad is complete - if they make them I may revise this, but I'm going in the lower reaches of the top 10 for the first Koeman season.

Final position: 8th

Summer Transfer Window Series: 2015 Window Top 10 Loan and Free Wheeler-Dealers

In my final post of this current series, I wanted to do something a little bit differently. In every transfer window, media attention and general focus lands on the big money moves, or the potential difference makers, as is reflected by my previous blogs.

Very little tends to be made of the movement in the free or loan transfer window, but these are where some of the most impressive deals are done. All of the following have at one time or another moved for nothing: Lewandowski, Pirlo, Law, Khedira, Klinsmann and Raul, and this season has been no different, with a number of good free and loan deals being done, particularly by clubs lower down the Premier League pecking order.

10. Maarten Stekelenburg - Fulham to Southampton (Loan)
It's not every day you get the chance to sign a goalkeeper that has played in a World Cup final, but Southampton did exactly that this year. After an unsuccessful (and no doubt costly) spell at Fulham, which was punctuated by a brief loan spell with AS Monaco, the Dutchman made the move across the South East to Southampton. Though in the long-term Stekelenburg is likely to play second fiddle to the currently injured Fraser Forster, the former Roma man is enjoying his time on the coast, with three successive clean sheets in recent games.

9. Tom Cleverley - Manchester United to Everton (Free)
Although an uninspiring player on the face of it, and certainly not good enough for the likes of Manchester United (or England), but a solid central midfielder. Having been loaned out to Aston Villa last year, and generally impressed, Cleverley has earned a permanent move away from Old Trafford, and to a decent side in Everton. Like Stekelenberg, I don't expect the Englishman to play every game, but at just 26 years old, he still has plenty to offer and will be challenged at Goodison Park. He adds reasonable strength in depth and cover for the more experienced Gareth Barry, and will certainly have an opportunity to prove himself this season.

8. Nathan Dyer - Swansea City to Leicester City (Loan)
A bit of surprising one, this. Having been one of the staples of the Swansea side of the last few years, particularly in their first season back in the big time in 2011-2012, I felt that the flyer winger would still be a part of Garry Monk's plans. However, the signing and rise in form of Jefferson Montero has seen the opportunities dry up for Dyer, and rather than settle for reduced first-team minutes, the Englishman made the call to go out on loan to Leicester. While I'm not expecting the little winger to set the team alight over the coming months, particularly with the form of Riyhad Mahrez at present, but I do see him playing an important role over the season.

7. Victor Ibarbo - AS Roma to Watford (Loan)
A bolt out of the unknown, this transfer. Having enjoyed a largely successful career in Serie A with both Cagliari and Roma, as well as earning a number of caps for the Colombian national side, Ibarbo made the move to Premier League new boys Watford. A proven goalscorer with prodigious pace, it will be interesting to see how the striker gets on, particularly acclimatising to the physical nature of the Premier League. First of all, however, he needs to get to grips with the English legislation, with Ibarbo noble to take his place in the Watford side at the weekend due to visa problems. Once he has cleared that problem, I am certain he will prove a good signing for the Hornets, and could well prove the difference between survival and relegation come May.

6. Ibrahim Afellay - Barcelona to Stoke City (Free)
Stoke are slowly but surely putting together an impressive team of names that perhaps haven't hit their heights at enormous clubs, with Afellay joining the likes of Bojan and Shaqiri at the Britannia this summer. Once seen as the golden boy of Dutch football, Afellay shone in the Eredivisie, bringing PSV a number of titles and trophies. As a result, Barcelona took notice, and the youngster got the move to the Nou Camp.

However, since then it has been a seemingly never-ending series of disappointment, underperformance and a string of horrendous injuries, which has left Afellay needing to resurrect his career. He certainly possesses an enormous amount of quality, and has the potential to win a game in an instant, with his left foot particularly potent. However, he has also shown that he can be petulant, with his sending off against West Brom this season a prime example. All in all, a strong transfer, but Mark Hughes may have a challenge getting the best out of him.

5. James Milner - Manchester City to Liverpool (Free)
Perhaps not the most exciting transfer that Liverpool made this summer, but arguably one of the more important. The personification of the term 'utility player', Milner is an extremely valuable addition to Liverpool, providing them with cover across a number of positions. Having found his game time at Manchester City reduced year on year since signing for the club in 2010, Milner had made it clear that he would leave at the end of his contract. The only real question then was who would he go to?

With the midfielder unlikely to want to take a significant step down in quality that has been seen by many of this season's free transfers, it became evident that Liverpool were rapidly becoming first choice to secure his services. He has had an unspectacular start to life at Anfield, but then again he is an unspectacular player!

4. Yann M'Vila - Rubin Kazan to Sunderland (Loan)
Given the struggle that Sunderland have had in the last few seasons to retain their Premier League status, it surprised me that they were able to tempt the man who was once thought of extremely highly, and linked with some of Europe's top sides. True, his stock has dipped somewhat after choosing to ignore the top leagues and making the move to Russia, but I would have thought that his name alone would have got him into sides more capable of making an impact on the league. Considering the start that the Black Cats have made to this season, M'Vila has not been particularly poor, showing his talent with an exquisite free kick. Sunderland will need a few more of those to get them out of trouble, however.

3. Alex Song - Barcelona to West Ham United (Loan)
Though perhaps not as shocking as it was last season, I still think this represents an outstanding bit of business for the Hammers. Having proven his worth in England with first Arsenal, and then last season at Upton Park, Alex Song has returned to East London with a strong pedigree. Though his game-time so far this season has been limited, he will add to a rapidly improving West Ham side, and will further aid the remarkable away record with a bit of steel to go with the flair of the likes of Dimitri Payet.

2. Micah Richards - Manchester City to Aston Villa (Free)
Another Manchester City player, and an Englishman at that, to leave on a free this season. But one club's loss is another's gain, and in this case, I feel Villa have got themselves an absolute gem. Though it's easy to forget, given the amount of time Richards has been around, he is relatively young at just 27 years old. Though, like many of the others in this list, he has failed to live up to what was unreasonable hype, and has found himself out of favour with Manuel Pellegrini. Incredibly strong and quick, he fits perfectly into the Premier League, either at centre back or full back, and will add leadership and stability to the Villa defence. He's already shown considerable promise, and has been installed as captain of the Birmingham club.

1. Andre Ayew - Olympique Marseille to Swansea City (Free)
I think this goes without saying. An absolutely outstanding start to life in the Premier League for Andre Ayew, with a remarkable return of two goals and three assists. The Ghanaian has fitted into the quick pass and move-style football currently on display at the Liberty Stadium perfectly, quickly finding a fruitful partnership with striker Bafetimbi Gomis, who has also started the season like a freight train. Though I'm sure that both he and Swansea will go through lean spells during the season, I'm equally sure that he has the quality to make it through them and continue to contribute to the Swans' season. Shame the same can't be said for his brother Jordan at Aston Villa...

It's been a record-breaking transfer window, and with the new multi-billion pound TV deal set to come into operation next season, the spending is only going to get more pronounced. The only difference is that there will be more transfers made by the lower table sides, with the likes of Shaqiri, Cabaye and Wijnaldum just the start. However, clubs will still try to make the most out of their money, and the free transfers may become ever more significant when we look at the true ability of managers and their chief executives to exploit the market.

With such high sums being thrown around, it's set to be an exciting next few years for transfers, and an exciting next few months to see how the newest names cope with the demands at their new clubs.