Everton have struggled this season, especially when it comes to defensive performances, conceding 47 goals which is the fifth highest in the Premier League this season so far, and with a goal difference of -19, it is no wonder that the side is struggling to maintain safety in the league table.
After the Wolves defeat on Sunday afternoon, Everton are now only outside of the relegation zone based on their goal difference compared to Watford, currently matching the 18th place Hertfordshire club on 22 points, so Frank Lampard is finding himself in hotter water as every fixture passes them by.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and when you look back to the summer of 2021, there is no way that Farhad Moshiri and the Everton board could have ever predicted the position they have found themselves in this season.
However, they will ultimately rue many decisions that were and were not made over the summer by former director Marcel Brands that could've strengthened their position, with the club's Premier League status hanging in the balance.
One transfer decision that Everton will surely regret not seeing through was for defender Denzel Dumfries, who was heavily linked with the club last summer, but now he is competing in the title challenge in the Serie A with Inter Milan.
The 6 foot 2 titan who was likened to a "freight train" by BBC commentator Jonathan Pearce during a performance for the Netherlands, has scored three goals and bagged six assists from his right-back position for Inter, serving up 35 appearances for the Italian side this season so far.
It's not just his goal involvements that will give Moshiri nightmares, his defensive attributes are exactly what Everton needs right now. In the Italian top-flight this term, Dumfries has won the majority of his duels (54%), with 84% pass accuracy in his own half and 0.9 tackles made on average per game according to SofaScore, proving that he is effective in both offensive and defensive transition.
As a result of this fantastic output for Inter Milan since he joined them at the beginning of the season, the 25-year-old defender has seen his valuation skyrocket, with his transfer fee reported by Gianluca Dimarzio at just £10.5m and his value over the last nine months rising to £34m according to CIES Football Observatory.
There is no doubt that Everton will be regretting not going all out to secure the Dutch national's signature back in the summer, he would've been a fantastic upgrade to replace a declining Seamus Coleman in the team and would certainly give the current Toffees boss more dimension to his preferred offensive style when he plays three at the back, which we saw fail against Wolves.