Everton are just over three weeks away from their opening Premier League fixture against Fulham, and they have made a grand total of one signing this summer.
Ashley Young, albeit experienced, is 38 years old and hardly likely to get the revival started following a woeful couple of seasons in Merseyside.
The Toffees certainly need strengthening in almost all areas of the pitch and Sean Dyche will need to start securing some new arrivals in the next couple of weeks otherwise the pressure could start to build.
Having netted just 34 goals in 38 league matches last term, the need for a clinical centre-forward is obvious, yet their back line could also be bolstered, as they had the seventh-worst defensive total in the division, conceding 57 goals.
According to Tutto Juve (via Sport Witness), Everton are interested in signing young Belgian defender Koni de Winter this summer, and they have ‘inquired’ about his situation at Juventus.
How good is Koni de Winter?
The Goodison Park outfit face competition from French side Lille for the player as he looks set to undergo pre-season training at Juventus ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
The 21-year-old has a contract at the Serie A side until 2026, which means Dyche will have to stump up a decent fee in order to tempt them to sell and with Juventus holding the starlet in ‘high esteem’, any move could be tricky to work out.
That said, it would be a wise move should they complete a deal for the £10m-rated talent, as he could well be a dream replacement for James Tarkowski. Despite holding one of the worst defensive records in the division, the former Burnley defender emerged as one of their finest players during a terrible season.
The 30-year-old ranked third across the squad for overall Sofascore rating, accurate passes per game (34.6) and interceptions per game (1.3) while he also made 5.2 clearances each match, good enough to rank him top of the pile, proving to be an impressive signing.
He won't be around forever, however, and Dyche will soon have to find an ideal replacement to the centre-back sooner rather than later. De Winter could be the ideal candidate.
He has already made two appearances for the Bianconeri, coming in the Champions League during the 2021/22 season, showing that they clearly value his talent, yet he ended up at Empoli on a loan deal last term.
The 21-year-old made 14 appearances across the whole season and won 59% of his aerial duels along with making 4.5 clearances and one tackle per game, with the youngster clearly showing glimpses of his defensive talents.
His former teammate at Juventus Leonardo Bonucci lavished praise upon the 6 foot 2 gem back in 2021 when he was just emerging from the academy, claiming that the defender “has no fear” and if given a chance in the Premier League, he could accelerate his development.
Of course, Dyche will be looking at signing seasoned campaigners who have the required experience to push Everton towards the top half of the table, yet taking a gamble on players such as De Winter, a player dubbed "strong" by Pavel Nedved, could pay off handsomely in the future.