Everton welcomed five new faces to the club this summer, as Sean Dyche continues to work on steering the Toffees away from a third consecutive relegation battle in the Premier League.
In the past two campaigns, the Blues have taken their bid for survival to the final day of the season, with the 2023/24 term carrying huge importance with reference to the club’s ability to progress.
The 2022/23 season was both hectic and anxiety-riddled for the Toffees, with tensions added to in the January transfer window as academy graduate Anthony Gordon protested his desire to leave the club amid the chaos on the pitch with the Blues in the relegation zone at the point of his departure.
After joining Everton at the age of 11, Gordon’s strategy to force a move to Newcastle United was not received well by fans or most associated with Goodison Park.
The 21-year-old refused to train with the squad upon hearing of the Magpies’ interest, action that led to him handing in a transfer request in the bid to leave his boyhood club.
Just prior to deadline day, Eddie Howe secured the signature of the winger, paying Everton a monstrous £45m fee to obtain his services, a deal that was widely questioned at the time considering the price paid for a fairly inexperienced and unproven player.
The Liverpool-born talent made the move across Merseyside to join the Blues from Anfield in 2012 as an academy hopeful, a move that benefitted the Toffees who received a £45m profit from his eventual sale.
Gordon left Goodison having scored seven goals in 78 appearances, which theoretically isn’t a bad return for a 21-year-old who spent half of his time with the first team on a sporadic role, but not so forgivable for a £45m acquisition.
In his final season, the Englishman scored three goals in 16 Premier League appearances, before making the move to Newcastle where he faced a difficult start to life up north.
