Everton owner Farhad Moshiri will be aiming to avoid a repeat of last season in which the club just avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth with a win over Crystal Palace on the penultimate day of the campaign.
It wasn’t looking rosy for Frank Lampard, who only took charge in January following the sacking of Rafa Benitez and he will need to get his summer recruitment spot on if he aims to still be in a job this time next year.
There have been reports linking the club with Tottenham Hotspur player Steven Bergwijn, although Ajax are also keen on the £27m Dutchman who recently admitted that he wanted to leave Spurs ahead of the summer transfer window.
Lampard should be acting quickly to sign the left-winger, who can also play across the frontline as he could add a different dimension to their struggling attack.
Only Richarlison (11) hit double figures for goals last season at the club, and their attacking woes have been well documented.
Bergwijn could become Everton’s very own Sadio mane, with the two players alike on FBref’s similar player model and it could be a match made in heaven.
Both players generate over three shot-creating actions per match (3.19 for Bergwijn and 3.10 for Mane) while the Dutchman has the greater shots on target percentage (52.6%) compared to the Liverpool winger (37.4%), although Mane has played more matches this season.
Mane appears to be the better goalscoring threat, having netted 16 goals in the Premier League this season, but Bergwijn has only played in 25 matches, with just four starts. During this time he has scored three goals and registered one assist, just one behind Mane.
If the 24-year-old, who has been dubbed “incredible” in the past by Jose Mourinho, was a regular fixture in his team like Mane, then his goalscoring abilities might have yielded better results.
The potential is clearly there, and he has shone on international duty for the Netherlands, scoring five goals in 18 appearances, including the opener against Belgium in the recent Nations League clash.
It could well be a shrewd signing by Lampard, and one that will give the supporters a big lift.