Everton may have ended pre-season unbeaten following a 2-2 draw with Sevilla on Sunday, but in many ways, the club's preparations for the new campaign have thrown up more questions than answers.
Several of these issues are almost certain to be rectified in the coming weeks, with Gylfi Sigurdsson and Olivier Giroud targeted to address both the lack of creativity and the absence of a physical focal point in the Blues' play. However, it seems unlikely at this stage that Ronald Koeman will move to address the worryingly one-paced nature of the Everton starting line-up.
For large swathes of the close season, the Toffees attack has looked devoid of both width and pace, leaving a sizeable burden on full-backs Leighton Baines and Mason Holgate to provide thrust from deep. This was again the case during the game against Sevilla over the weekend, as the slick La Liga side quickly got to grips with an Everton forward line containing Sandro Ramirez, Wayne Rooney and Dominic Calvert-Lewin after an early goal from the former. As the latter became increasingly isolated, the Blues were in need of a player to carry the ball into the opposition half at speed.
Trailing 2-1 thanks to a double from Man of the Match Ever Banega, it was tellingly only when substitutes Ademola Lookman and Kevin Mirallas entered the fray that Koeman's men looked like preserving their unblemished record. With the game stretched and both arrivals hugging the touchline, Everton finally injected some momentum in their play. Lookman, an Under-20 World Cup winner with England over the summer, found pockets of space in between the lines and began to drive at the Sevilla defence, while on the other flank, Belgian international Mirallas did likewise.
The two combined to win the equalising penalty which Mirallas duly dispatched before Lookman forced a fine save from Sergio Rico in the visitors' goal as Everton pushed for a winner. It was a veritable sea change from the rest of the encounter and a breath of fresh air for most associated with the Blues.
So Koeman now has food for thought ahead of Saturday's Premier League opener at home to Stoke City: Does he stick with the Sandro, Rooney and Calvert-Lewin axis or shuffle his pack in an attempt to add more dynamism to his attack? At this stage, it appears as though it will be a straight fight between Calvert-Lewin and either Lookman or Mirallas for the final place in the Dutchman's favoured 4-3-3. But with neither Rooney nor Sandro totally at ease in wide positions, a winger should be privileged as Everton seek to add more width into their play.
Particularly away from home, where they toiled for much of last season, the onus is on sides to sit deep and counter-attack with pace when the opportunity arises. Teams that do, like Crystal Palace, tend to thrive on the road. Indeed, a brief glance at some of the Blues' rivals for a top six berth shows just how far behind in this facet of the game- and helps explain their woeful record on the road throughout 2016-17. For while neighbours Liverpool now possess the likes of Salah and Mane, and Chelsea utilise the pace of Hazard and Pedro on the counter, Everton have often lacked the ability to transition with breakneck speed.
And so, a chance could open up for one of Lookman and Mirallas as Koeman searches for the right blend going forward. 29-year-old Mirallas is the experienced option having played 35 games for the Blues last time around, yet it is the younger Lookman that is setting pulses racing on Merseyside.
A star for England over the summer, the January signing from Charlton scored on his club debut against Manchester City only to then see his appearances limited following a below-par display at Middlesbrough. Confidence issues were mentioned as a factor, as was his capacity to 'overplay' in certain areas of the pitch. Now though, after a successful few months internationally and a string of impressive displays in friendlies, the teenager seems ready to return to the Blues forward-line in some capacity.
At this moment in time, no other player in the Everton squad shares Lookman's ability to take players on at pace and create opportunities for either himself or teammates. The discomfort he caused Sevilla and international defences over the summer attests to that. So if Koeman and Co are on the lookout for a solution to the lack of energy in the Blues attack, they could do far worse than turn to the option that's already under their noses, instead of taking a further dip into a ludicrously overpriced transfer market.
