Everton have spent more than £500m on transfers since Farhad Moshiri became the majority shareholder at Goodison Park in 2016, and it's safe to say that many of the signings have been a disaster.

The Toffees have found themselves struggling to retain their Premier League status of late, and reports have suggested over the last 12 months that the club had been in some financial trouble, which led to a much more cautious approach to their transfer business in the summer.

Indeed, Everton did manage to sign eight new players this summer after selling Brazilian winger Richarlison for £60m to Tottenham Hotspur, but they are still experiencing issues with delivering convincing performances on the pitch.

Frank Lampard's side are currently 17th in the Premier League and teetering on the edge of the relegation zone after a poor run of performances over the last few league outings, which the manager will be desperate to improve upon when the Toffees return to action after Christmas.

Of course, the powers at Goodison Park will be looking at options available to strengthen the team in the January transfer window, but what if they have the answer to their struggles already on the books?

Everton academy graduate Tom Cannon has been on fire in the Merseysiders' youth teams and could make a positive impact on the second half of the season if Lampard gives the youngster some opportunities in the senior setup.

The talented 19-year-old has scored 49 goals and registered 13 assists whilst occupying a spot in the under-18 and under-21 teams, with a goal contribution every 105 minutes. That is a very impressive output in front of goal which could be a hugely valuable asset to Lampard if Cannon could maintain his form over the remainder of the season.

Cannon penned a new long-term deal with Everton in August, committing his future until June 2025, and Kevin Thelwell was full of praise for the young talent upon the contract extension, saying: “He is a very talented young striker. He has an excellent work ethic and has proven his ability to score goals at every level he has played at."

Since then, the youthful goal machine was given the golden opportunity to join Lampard and the Everton first team on their tour of Australia in the Sydney Cup last month and has continued to score at a fantastic rate, delivering four goals in as many EFL Trophy appearances.

The future is looking incredibly bright for Cannon, and if he can continue to grasp his opportunities to impress the Everton manager, there seems little doubt that he will be featuring at Goodison Park in the first team more regularly over the coming months ahead.

If Lampard trusts in the youngster and is duly rewarded for that faith, he might just save Everton a few million quid in the process, negating the need to sign a striker when they already have a more than capable one in-house.